''Platanthera psycodes'', commonly called lesser purple fringed orchid or small purple-fringed orchid, is a species of

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

, genus ''

Platanthera The genus ''Platanthera'' belongs to the subfamily Orchidoideae of the family Orchidaceae, and comprises about 150 species of orchids. The members of this genus, known as the butterfly orchids or fringed orchids, were previously included in the ...

'', occurring from

eastern Canada Eastern Canada (also the Eastern provinces or the East) is generally considered to be the region of Canada south of the Hudson Bay/ Strait and east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces (from east to west): Newfoundland and Labrad ...

(from

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Win ...

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

) to the east-central and northeastern

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(

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Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The ...

, and

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian province ...

). It is imperiled in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

, and

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''psycodes'' is a misspelling of ''psychodes'', which means "butterfly-like", probably alluding to the shape of the flowers. Like many other orchids it is a plant of wet habitats: sedge meadows, flatwoods, sphagnum bogs, cedar or alder swamps, on stream edges or the moist edges of coniferous forests. It is occasionally found in wet swales adjoining freshwater sandy beaches. Preferring cooler habitats, its range is being pushed northwards as global temperatures warm. Correll refers to locations of altitudes in Vermont, altitudes in Virginia and altitudes in North Carolina and Tennessee. It is often confused with its relative, ''Platanthera grandiflora'', which generally has larger flowers (lip or labellum long), and has a circular nectary opening, compared to ''P. psycodes'' which has smaller flowers (the labellum measuring from long) and an oblong or almost rectangular opening. The most important characteristic separating the two species is the shape of the column and relative placement of the pollinia on the pollinators. In ''P. psycodes'' the column is shaped such that the pollinia are attached to the proboscis of the pollinator whereas in ''P. grandiflora'' the column is larger and the viscidia of the pollinia are widely spaced and outwardly rotated. This results in the pollinia being placed on the eyes of the pollinator. ''P. grandiflora'' has a much more restricted range and where the two species do overlap in range, they are phenotypically separated, with ''P. grandiflora'' typically blooming from late June through early July while ''P. psycodes'' blooms from late July through early August.

References

*Correll, Donovan S.. ''Native Orchids of North America North of Mexico''. Waltham: Chronica Botanica Co.. 1950 *

External links

* * * psycodes Orchids of Canada Orchids of the United States Orchids of Kentucky Orchids of Maryland Flora of Eastern Canada Flora of the Northeastern United States Flora of the North-Central United States Flora of the Southeastern United States Flora of the Appalachian Mountains Flora of the Great Lakes region (North America) Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Orchidoideae-stub