Ladies Tresses

One day at the end of August as I pulled into the driveway, I saw a group of these beautiful sparkling white Ladies Tresses orchids (Spiranthes).This is a native orchid of the southeast and other species of this orchid grow all over the country.  Although not common, you can see them sometimes shinning through the grass on roadsides. They do best in the full hot sun. There were 8 in this group and a further check of the yard revealed  11 more , some in groups  within 3 feet of each other, others single individuals. The flower stalks were 12-15 inches tall and the flowers were spiraled around the stem. They are pure white with a green smear in the throat. I have had these bloom on my property before, but never so many. They are so tough. Who would believe an orchid would grow and bloom in the heat and drought of August? That is certainly not the requirements we usually think of for orchids. But Spiranthes knows what  is best for it. After the flowers pass, the leaves emerge and they grow in a fairly flat rosette and have a slight succulent appearance.

Ladies Tresses

Seems like the ladies tresses orchids (Spiranthes) were late this year, another thing I attribute to the lack of rain. They seem to pop up unexpectedly and I am always surprised and pleased. They grow in one section of the yard in the grass and seem to come up in different spots. They are perrennial according to what I read so I guess different plants come up in different years. One year I had a big nice one at the bottom of the front steps, but have not seen it since that year.

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.