Lesser Purple Fringed Orchid, Platanthera psycodes (L.) Lindl. formerly Habenaria psychodes, Minnesota Native Wildflowers, Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden

	Plants of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden
	Common Name	Scientific Name	Plant Family	Garden Location	Prime Season
	Lesser Purple Fringed Orchid	Platanthera psycodes (L.) Lindl. formerly Habenaria psychodes	Orchid (Orchidaceae)	Not Extant - Historic Garden Plant	Late Summer
Other names and notes	(Smaller Purple Fringed Orchid) A wonderful sight to see in late summer, blooming on a stout stem of 1 to 3 feet in height. It is similar to the Larger Purple Fringed Orchid, P. fimbriata, but has a narrower width to the inflorescence and smaller flowers. The flowers are a rose purple, sometimes white, and appear on a cylindrical raceme, opening from the bottom upward. There is an upper sepal and two lateral sepals but the distinguishing characteristic is the three-lobed, fringed lower lip which gives the flower a delicate appearance. The flowers are 3/4" long. Like other species of this genus, the leaves are stem leaves, larger toward the base of the stem, lanceolate in shape but more oval than the Northern Green Orchid, P. hyperborea. The plants habitat is wet meadows, woody swamps, stream banks and low open woods where there is plenty of sunlight.


The fragrant flowers of P. psycodes have a fringed 3-lobe lower lip.

Below: The stem leaves, which are more broadly oval than those of the Northern Green Orchid, P. hyperborea.

Notes: Eloise Butler planted this species on Sept. 6, 1908 with plants from Cambridge, Nova Scotia which she acquired on her mid-summer trip to visit her sister, Cora, on the east coast. She planted more on Sept. 4, 1909 with species brought back from Winter Pond, MA while on a similar summer trip. Martha Crone planted 3 specimens on Sept. 27, 1934, but did not list her source. In those days both curators used the older scientific name Habenaria psychodes. This species was still in the Garden at the time of Martha Crone's 1951 Garden census but died out in later years. In North America this plants range is from Manitoba - Minnesota - Iowa - Missouri eastward to the east coast and down as far as Georgia. In nine of those states it is listed as endangered or threatened, including Iowa where it is on the threatened list. In Minnesota it is restricted to the counties of the NE quadrant down to the metro area, and a few in SE Corner.

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References: Plant characteristics are generally from sources 15, 16, 30, 31, 33, W2 & W3. Distribution principally from W2 and also 31, 34 and W1. Planting history generally from 1, 4 & 4a. Other sources by specific reference. See Reference List for details.

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