Ladies Tresses (Spiranthes) are a type of perennial native white orchid and this year there is a bounty of them. When I first noticed one out my front door ascending straight up from the grass, I was surprised. Then looking around, I counted 25 of them. I found 8 more in the dry area behind my mailbox. Last year I counted them along the road as I went walking and every day one or two more popped up. There are 8 species of these orchids that are native to the Southeast and I believe this one is S. grayi. The tallest one I have seen is about 45 cm tall and theleaves appear as a rosette after the flower passes. It has no detectable fragrance to me, grows in full sun, and in areas that might at first glance appear too dry and inhospitable for orchids, yet this is the place they have chosen to grow.
Seeing them reminds me of all the small miracles that surround me everyday in the natural world.
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