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| ## yellow fringed orchid {#yellow-fringed-orchid .Title-Header}       |
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| *Platanthera ciliaris* (L.) Lindl.                                    |
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| Plant Symbol = PLCI2                                                  |
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Contributed by: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center

### ![](media/image2.jpeg){width="2.6979166666666665in" height="4.042361111111111in"}

### Alternate names

Orange-plume, orange-fringe, bobwhite's moccasin, owl's head. This plant
is referred to as *Blephariglotis ciliaris* (L.) Rydb. or *Habenaria
ciliaris* (L.) R. Br. ex Ait., in much of the older literature.

### Uses

*Ethnobotanic*: The Cherokee and Seminoles as well as other Native
American tribes in the Eastern United States used the yellow-fringed
orchid for medicinal and other purposes. The roots were used to make
infusions to treat diarrhea. The roots were also used to treat
snakebites. A cold infusion of the root was taken to relieve headaches.
A piece of the root was used on fishhooks to "make the fish bite
better." In Florida, it was known as "rattle snake's master" and was
used both internally and externally to treat snakebite.

### Status

This plant may be listed as threatened in your state. This rare plant is
threatened by loss of habitat, harvesting, and changes in land
management practices, such as fire suppression, in much of its native
range. It is listed as threatened by many states and is probably locally
extinct in Canada. It is also listed in Appendix II of the CITES
database of threatened plants. Please consult the PLANTS Web site and
your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant's current
status (e.g. threatened or endangered species, state noxious status, and
wetland indicator values).

### Description

*General*: Orchid Family (Orchidaceae). This plant is a native,
perennial herb. The upright stems will grow 30 cm to 1m tall. The roots
are tuberous or fleshy. The plant has numerous lance-shaped leaves. The
lower leaves are about 30 cm long, 3 to 6 cm wide, with smaller leaves
toward the top. The plants have showy spikes (5 to 20 cm long) of
loosely clustered flowers. The flowers grow in racemes, opening from
bottom to top. The flowers can be bright yellow through apricot to deep
orange. The lower petal or lip of the flower is linear-oblong (8 to 12
mm long, 2-3 m wide) with long ciliated fringe (12 to 16 mm long). The
spurs are 20 to 33 mm long. Blooming time is variable, but usually from
late June in the North to late September in the South.

*Distribution*: For current distribution, please consult the Plant
Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site.

*Habitat*: The plants are native to sphagnum and sedge bogs, swamps,
marshes, wet sandy barrens, thickets on borders of streams and ponds,
moist woods, wet meadows, prairies, and in deep humus of upland forests
in the Eastern United States and Canada.

### Establishment

Yellow-fringed orchids are attractive and easier to grow than most
fringed orchids. They do well in either partial shade or full sun. The
plants grow in slightly acid soils with a pH from 5 to 6.

### Pests and Potential Problems

The plants need to be protected from slugs, snails, and cutworms.

### 

### Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

These plant materials are not readily available from commercial sources.
However, there are specialty growers who are propagating this plant. Do
not harvest these plants from the wild as they are threatened throughout
most of their range.

Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil
Conservation Service) office for more information. Look in the phone
book under "United States Government." The Natural Resources
Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading "Department of
Agriculture."

### References

Bailey, L.H. & E.Z. Bailey 1976. *Hortus Third: A concise dictionary of
plants cultivated in the United States and Canada*. Simon and Schuster
Macmillan Co., New York, New York. 1290 pp.

Banks, W.H. 1953. *Ethnobotany of the Cherokee Indians*. Master of
Science Thesis, University of Tennessee, Tennessee. 216 pp.

Chapman, A.W. 1883. *Flora of the Southern United States: Flowering
Plants and Ferns*. Second Edition. J. Wilson and Son, Cambridge,
Massachusetts. 698 pp.

Connecticut Botanical Society 2001. *Yellow-fringed orchid.* \[Online\].
Available:

<http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/>

[platantheracili.html]{.underline}. (23 June 2001).

Convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna
and flora 2001. *CITES-listed species database: flora*. \[Online\].
Available:

<http://www.cites.org/index.html>. (23 June 2001).

Duncan, W. H. & L.E. Foote 1975. *Wildflowers of the Southeastern United
States.* University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia. 296 pp.

Godfrey, R.K. & J.W. Wooten 1979. *Aquatic and wetland plants of
Southeastern United States*. Vol. 2. University of Georgia Press,
Athens, Georgia. 933 pp.

Indiana Department of Natural Resources. 1999. *List* *of endangered,
threatened and rare species by county.* \[Online\]. Available:
<http://www.in.gov/dnr/naturepr/index.htm>. (23 June 2001).

Moerman, D.E. 1998. *Native American ethnobotany*. Timber Press,
Portland, Oregon. 927 pp.

Moerman, D.E. 1999. *Native American Ethnobotany Database: Foods, drugs,
dyes and fibers of native North American Peoples. The University of
Michigan-Dearborn.* \[Online\]. Available:

<http://www.umd.umich.edu/cgi-bin/herb>

(23 June 2001).

Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Natural Areas &
Preserves 2001. *Ohio natural data base, Washington County rare plant
species (2000-2001 status list).* \[Online\]. Available:
<http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/odnr/dnap/heritage/counties/washington.html>.
(23 June 2001).

Royal Botanical Gardens 2000. *Canadian native orchids.* \[Online\].
Available:

<http://www.rbg.ca/orchids/files/pla_cil.htm>. (23 June 2001).

Small, J.K. 1933. *Manual of Southeastern flora*. University of North
Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 1554 pp.

Smith, A.I. 1979. *A guide to wildflowers of the Mid-south*. Memphis
State University Press, Memphis, Tennessee. 281 pp.

Steffek, E.F. 1983. *The new wild flowers and how to grow them*. Timber
Press, Portland Oregon. 186 pp.

Sturtevant, W.C. 1954. *The Mikasuki Seminole: medical beliefs and
practices*. Doctoral Dissertation, Yale University. 538 pp.

The Nature Conservancy 2000. *Orange fringed-orchid.* Oak openings
region web site. \[Online\]. Available:

<http://www.oakopeningsregion.com/qOrangeFringed.htm>. (23 June 2001).

### Prepared By

## *Diana L. Immel*

Formerly USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center, c/o Environmental
Horticulture Department, University of California, Davis, California

### Species Coordinator

## *M. Kat Anderson*

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center, c/o Plant Sciences Department,
University of California, Davis, California

Edited: 27sep01 jsp; 29may03 ahv; 060808 jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

*The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in
all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national
origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual
orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases
apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require
alternative means for communication of program information (Braille,
large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA\'s [TARGET
Center](http://www.usda.gov/oo/target.htm) at 202-720-2600 (voice and
TDD).*

*To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of
Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964 (voice or
TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.*

*Read about [Civil Rights at the Natural Resources Convervation
Service](http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/about/civilrights/).*