Spiranthes ochroleuca

Yellow Nodding Ladies’-tresses

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Mid-Atlantic bloom time: September - October

According to Zachary R. Bradford's article in Sempervirens, The Quarterly of the Virginia Native Plant Society, September 2022, Yellow Nodding Ladies’-tresses' unique combination of characteristics are:

off-white flowers with butterscotch coloration at base of lip
lower lip or labellum has wavy margins that often but not always have a yellow area
growing in dry and usually acidic habitats in the mountains and rarely piedmont
silimar to S. cernua - look for yellow in labellum

For a comparison of Ladies'-tresses based on Bradford's articles, see Spiranthes (Ladies'-tresses) Orchids ID help.

4 October 2023
Maple Flats area, Sherando, VA

4 October 2023
Maple Flats area, Sherando, VA
(note yellow-tinge at base of flower lip)

4 October 2023
Maple Flats area, Sherando, VA