''Platanthera ciliaris'', commonly known as the yellow fringed orchid, yellow-fringed orchid, or orange-fringed orchid, is a large and showy 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 ...

. It grows in "acid soil of hillside seepage bogs" in the longleaf pine landscapes of the

Gulf Coast of the United States The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Mississ ...

.Liggio, J. and Liggio, A.O. 1999. Wild Orchids of Texas. University of Texas Press, Austin. 228 p. Like many species in these habitats, including

flatwoods Flatwoods, pineywoods, pine savannas and longleaf pine-wiregrass ecosystem are terms that refer to an ecological community in the southeastern coastal plain of North America. Flatwoods are an ecosystem maintained by wildfire or prescribed fire an ...

, it is dependent upon recurring fire to create open conditions. Further north it is found in

bogs A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main Wetland#Types, types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, ...

, but even here it may be dependent upon fire to create open conditions. M.R. Penskar and S.R. Crispin. 2004. Special plant abstract for Platanthera ciliaris (yellow fringed-orchid). Michigan Natural Features Inventory. Lansing, MI. 3 pp It is pollinated by large butterflies, mostly swallowtails. The species is at risk in some areas from loss of habitat and collecting. For example, it is endangered in Michigan. It has been recorded from extreme southern Ontario, but is now thought to be extirpated.Oldham, M.J., and S.R. Brinker. 2009. Rare Vascular Plants of Ontario, Fourth Edition. Natural Heritage Information Centre, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Peterborough, Ontario. 188 pp

References

ciliaris Orchids of the United States Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Orchidoideae-stub