Spiranthes Native Orchid

Ladies tresses are native orchids that bloom nearly every year in my lawn. I define lawn as the area I cut with a mower. If you keep weeds cut short the grass will have a chance to invade and take over for the most part. By not becoming over anxious about weeds in the grass, I have been rewarded with quite a patch of these tiny beauties. I counted 16 in one area yesterday, plus one right in front of the front porch steps. Today I found one near the garbage can at the road. A neighbor farther down the road has quite a few of these growing where his lawn meets the road, but he is oblivious to their minature beauty and typically mows them down. Every year in August and September before these bloom I canvass the area where I know they grow so that I do not accidently mow them. The genus Spiranthus comes from the twisted configuration of the bloom stalk. These bloom after the foliage dies back. There are quite a few species in this genus and some prefer wet, some dry, some bloom in spring and others fall. I have read that some are tinged with pink, but I have never seen any that are. These have green throat markings. Keep a sharp eye out for these bright white beauties. They may be in your yard or you may see them on the roadside.