One of the showiest wildflowers in the state is the lady-slipper at right. They are perennials that flower from late April through early June, grow in clumps or colonies, and can survive for many years. They flower from late July to early October and can grow to almost four feet tall. The Western prairie fringed orchid flowers from mid-June to early July, and the purple fringeless orchid is found from late June to early September. Some of the flowers are only three millimeters in size.
Some orchids emit a sweet, pleasing fragrance at certain times of the day.
Once, my friend Wally Weber and I were hunting for orchids in late afternoon on a glade in Christian County. All of a sudden we smelled a sweet fragrance much like vanilla. We searched openings between cedar trees, and soon we discovered a large patch of several hundred Great Plains ladies -tresses in glorious bloom. Had we not smelled the fragrance, we might not have found them. Three of Missouri s orchids are very hardy and maintain leaf growth all winter long.