Platanthera peramoena (A. Gray) A. Gray

Purple Fringeless Orchid

© DETenaglia

Family - Orchidaceae

Stems - Erect, to 90 cm.

	Stem and nodes.
© SRTurner

Leaves - Alternate, sessile, 2-5 along stem, grading into the bracts subtending the flowers, lanceolate to elliptic, glabrous, the venation parallel.

	Leaf sheath.
© SRTurner

	Leaf adaxial.
© SRTurner

	Leaf abaxial.
© SRTurner

Inflorescence - Terminal raceme of 20-50 flowers.

	Inflorescence.
© SRTurner

Flowers - Sepals 6-9 mm long, pinkish purple to purple. Lateral petals 5-8 mm long, broadly spathulate, the tips broadly rounded, finely toothed to nearly entire, pinkish purple to purple. Lip 10-22 mm long, 3-lobed, the lobes broadly fan-shaped, unevenly toothed or fringed less than a third the length of the lobe, the middle lobe sometimes with a short notch at the tip, pinkish purple to purple. Spur 20-30 mm long. Column 3-4 mm long, greenish white, the viscidia 3.0-3.5 mm apart, positioned so as to face more or less forward (parallel to each other).

	Flowers.
© SRTurner

	Flower.
© DETenaglia

	Flower lateral view.
© SRTurner

	Flower frontal view.
© SRTurner

	Calyx.
© DETenaglia

Fruits - Ascending capsules, elliptic, strongly ribbed.

Flowering - June - September.

Habitat - Mesic bottomland forests along streams and lakes, in mucky or rocky soil.

Origin - Native to the U.S.

Other info. - This striking species can be found in the southeast corner of Missouri. The plant is fairly uncommon but may be becoming more common in the state. This species is easy to identify from its large inflorescences of pinkish-purple flowers. The lips of the flowers are toothed but not fringed. The flowers are pollinated by butterflies. This is a fairly tall orchid, reaching nearly 1 m.

Photographs taken at the S Bar F Scout Ranch, St. Francois County, MO., 7-10-04 (DETenaglia); also at Shaw Nature Reserve, Franklin County, MO, 7-11-2011 and 7-25-2020 (SRTurner).