from an article published today in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal,
25 August :
The yellow fringed orchid, Platanthera ciliaris ... actually more orange
than yellow, but the shades of orange can vary from pale orange to a deep
pumpkin orange. This native orchid grows about two to three feet tall on a
sturdy, erect stem.
Atop the stem is a raceme with copious blossoms. Some stalks will have as
many as 30 orange orchid-like blossoms. Each flower has a long spur and a
lower lip or petal with enough fringe to please a flapper. The upper petal,
actually a sepal, curves forward and arches over the top to form a little
orange bonnet.
The flowers seem to open from the bottom of the raceme upwards, and often
the unopened buds on top look like the antennae of little Martians. The
leaves are very narrow and lanceolate and sheathe the stem. The upper
leaves are greatly reduced in size. The fruit is a capsule
The yellow fringed orchid will grow in part shade but seems to prefer full
sun. It grows in bogs, wet meadows and mixed woods. ... two very large
colonies of these orchids ... they were growing on sunny banks with seepage
along county roads. The soil did not appear to be particularly rich. In one
area, the site did not look as if it could sustain an orchid population or
any other plant life, but there was a plethora of yellow fringed orchids,
and they were flourishing.
Several sources state that the root of this orchid is edible, and
historically, a root tea has been brewed to treat aches and pains.
source and complete text :
http://www.djournal.com/pages/story.asp?ID=200302pub=1div=Lifestyles
*
Regards,
Viateur
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