PLANT PROFILE

Platanthera integra
green fringed orchid



Platanthera lacera
Platanthera lacera
Photo Courtesy Renee Brecht
Britton & Brown
Botanical name: Platanthera integra
Common name: green fringed orchid
Group: monocot
Family: Orchidaceae
Growth type: forb/herb
Duration: perennial
Origin: native
Plant height: 1 - 2'
Foliage: Middle of the stem with small, narrow, pointed leaves. Bottom leaves similar but larger.
Flower: 1/2" yellowish-green or -white to sordid-yellow or bronzy
Flowering time: late June-late July
Habitat: swamps and bogs
Range in New Jersey: Pine Barrens swamps. Very rare.
Heritage ranking, if any: Northern, Middle & Cape May districts; occasional on the coast
Distribution: Platanthera lacera
Misc. USDA lists as a facultative wetland:  Usually occurs in wetlands (estimated probability 67%-99%), but occasionally found in non-wetlands.

This orchid was rare even in Stone's time: "All our efforts to find this orchid have failed, although likely spots in the Pine Barrens have been diligently searched."

Species name, integra, means "entire", from the lip of the flower, which is not fringed, but "entire".