''Spiranthes odorata'', marsh lady's tresses or common lady's tresses, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the orchid

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

native Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

to the southeastern United States, from Texas eastwards and northwards to Delaware. It grows in moist, partially shaded environments with

acidic An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis acid. The first category of acids are the ...

or neutral soil. An

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

, this orchid grows up to tall and broad. The flowers are borne in dense vertical rows on sturdy green spikes, in a slightly twisted pattern (hence ''Spiranthes'', "twisted flower"). This effect is due to uneven cell growth. The flowers, which appear in late summer and autumn, are white, hooded and fragrant (hence the

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

''odorata''). This plant is pollinated by

bumblebee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only Extant taxon, extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct r ...

s, notably ''

Bombus pensylvanicus ''Bombus pensylvanicus'', the American bumblebee, is a threatened species of bumblebee native to North America. It occurs in eastern Canada, throughout much of the Eastern United States, and much of Mexico.Hatfield, R., et al. 2015''Bombus pensyl ...

'', ''

Bombus fervidus ''Bombus fervidus'', the golden northern bumble bee or yellow bumblebee, is a species of bumblebee native to North America. It has a yellow-colored abdomen and thorax. Its range includes the North American continent, excluding much of the souther ...

'', ''

Bombus impatiens ''Bombus impatiens'', the common eastern bumblebee, is the most commonly encountered bumblebee across much of eastern North America. They can be found in the Eastern temperate forest region of the eastern United States, southern Canada, and the e ...

'', and ''

Bombus nevadensis ''Bombus nevadensis'', the Nevada bumblebee, is a species of bumblebee. It is native to North America, where it occurs from Alaska to California in the west, and east to Wisconsin, and in Arizona, New Mexico, and Mexico. Description A bumblebe ...

''. In the UK, the

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

'Chadd's Ford' has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

. Requiring a fertile soil in partial shade, it is

hardy Hardy may refer to: People * Hardy (surname) * Hardy (given name) * Hardy (singer), American singer-songwriter Places Antarctica * Mount Hardy, Enderby Land * Hardy Cove, Greenwich Island * Hardy Rocks, Biscoe Islands Australia * Hardy, ...

down to , but in frosty areas needs a dry mulch during the winter months. Botanically it is not actually a ''Spiranthes odorata'' but a different species called ''

Spiranthes bightensis ''Spiranthes bightensis'', the Atlantic ladies tresses, is a terrestrial orchid native to coasts of the north-eastern United States. Description ''Spiranthes bightensis'' plants look similar to ''Spiranthes cernua'' and '' Spiranthes odorata''. ...

''.

References

odorata Orchids of the United States {{Orchidoideae-stub