December 16, 2013
By: Patience Goodman
The “fringe” in the name, Western Prairie
Fringed Orchid, refers to the margins of the flower petals that have a feathery
appearance. It is a perennial plant that can go dormant during periods of
drought. It is a perennial plant that can go dormant during periods of
drought. Its multiple white blooms on a single flower stalk appear in June or
early July. The existence of this plant may be tied closely to its nocturnal
pollinator, the long-tongued hawkmoth, which is highly attracted to the scent
of the flowers. The western prairie fringed orchid is found in moist prairie or
sedge meadow habitats. The loss of native tallgrass prairie to farmland,
development, fire suppression, overgrazing and habitat fragmentation have made
this a rare plant. It is found in six states at approximately 75 sites. In
Kansas, it is found at four sites in four counties.
A characteristic plant of North
American tallgrass prairies, the Western Prairie fringed orchid (Platanthera
praeclara) is a beautiful plant with its fate tied to that of its habitat,
which has been reduced to less than two percent of its former vast range.
Consequently, this elegant wildflower is now classified as Endangered on the
IUCN Red List due to the high risk of it becoming extinct.
The Western Prairie fringed orchid is best
recognised by its showy white flowers, which are borne on a large raceme. Each
flower produces a vanilla-like fragrance and has a long nectar spur and a
deeply-lobed, deeply-fringed lower petal, or ‘lip’ .The raceme sits atop a
single, long, smooth stem, which may grow up to 85 centimetres in length, but
is often as short as 14 centimetres on drought-stressed plants. Five to ten
leaves branch from the stem. The lower leaves, which measure 9 to 15 centimeres
in length and 1.5 to 3.5 centimetres in width, are smooth and long, and are
larger than the upper leaves
The original name P. leucophaea was retained for the species
occupying the upper Mississippi River drainage and the Great Lakes region in an
area corresponding to the prairie peninsula. The species inhabiting the
prairies of the Missouri River drainage (west of Mississippi River) - the center
of the tallgrass prairie formation - was named P. praeclara.
Of the five known localities in the state of
Kansas Missouri
Iowa North
Dakota
The ideal habitat for P. praeclara is calcareous prairies and sedge
meadows, primarily along swales and in marsh areas. P. praeclara is also found in ditches and along
roadsides in unmanaged prairie remnants. The orchids prefer higher, drier
slopes of swales and ditches, in full sunlight. However, they require a moist
soil and warm climate; they do not readily flower in dry areas or during times
of drought.
The orchids are also at risk from habitat
alteration and degradation, which is induced by anthropogenic factors.
Inappropriate land management practices can damage individual plants or create
ecological changes that disadvantage entire orchid populations. For example,
cattle can damage individual plants by grazing and trampling them. More
problematic are management practices and other alterations to associated
ecological systems that disadvantage P. praeclara. For instance, non-application or misapplication of prescribed
fire, grazing, or mowing could have a detrimental impact on plant survival,
growth, and reproduction.
P. praeclara is federally listed in the USA
- ensuring that a minimum proportion of plants
within several ecological units occur on lands that are protected from
being converted to non-grassland; and
- that those protected plants are subject to appropriate management (USFWS unpublished).
Works Cited
