| Platanthera praeclara | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Orchidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Orchidoideae |
| Genus: | Platanthera |
| Species: | P. praeclara |
| Binomial name | |
| Platanthera praeclara | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
| |
Platanthera praeclara, known as the western prairie fringed orchid and the Great Plains white fringed orchid, is a rare and threatened species of orchid native to North America.
Historically, Platanthera praeclara was found in tallgrass prairies west of the Mississippi River. It occurred from extreme southern Canada south to northeast Oklahoma. In Oklahoma, historical records (1975) exist for Craig and Rogers Counties.
Currently, extant populations of the orchid are found in Iowa, Kansas, Manitoba, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and North Dakota. [2] [3]
Platanthera praeclara arises from a fleshy tuber. It grows from 38 to 85 centimeters (1 ft 3 in to 2 ft 9 in) tall. Each plant can have up to two dozen or more flowers arranged in a stalk. P. praeclara is distinguished from Platanthera leucophaea , the eastern prairie fringed orchid, by its slightly larger flowers, petal shape, and longer nectar spur.
Platanthera praeclara is a long-lived perennial. It emerges in May and blooms in June or in July further north. The flowers are fragrant at night and are pollinated by large sphinx moths. [4] P. praeclara is a plant of the tallgrass prairie and requires direct sunlight for growth. It is most often found in moist habitats or sedge meadows. P. praeclara has persisted in areas that have been lightly grazed, periodically burned, or regularly mowed. It is not yet understood how these activities affect plant survival. It may be that removal of dead grass mulch is beneficial, but heavy grazing is detrimental.
The plant has been listed as a threatened species in the United States since 1989, and in 2008 it was listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. [1]
The major factor contributing to the decline of P. praeclara has been the conversion of native prairie to croplands. Fire suppression, overgrazing, and habitat fragmentation also have contributed to the decline of the species.
The species was listed as endangered in Canada in 2003. [5] The Canadian population is considered relatively stable though limited to a small geographic area. [6] The Nature Conservancy of Canada has protected habitat for 25% of the global population of Western Prairie Fringed Orchid. [7]
Nine-Mile Prairie is a 230-acre (0.93 km2) tract of conserved tallgrass prairie in Lancaster County, Nebraska, United States. Except for one small portion of it that was farmed as recently as the 1950s, Nine-Mile Prairie has never been plowed. As such, it is one of the largest areas of virgin tallgrass prairie in the state of Nebraska. A 228-acre portion has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as Nine-Mile Prairie, since 1986.
The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America. Historically, natural and anthropogenic fire, as well as grazing by large mammals provided periodic disturbances to these ecosystems, limiting the encroachment of trees, recycling soil nutrients, and facilitating seed dispersal and germination. Prior to widespread use of the steel plow, which enabled large scale conversion to agricultural land use, tallgrass prairies extended throughout the American Midwest and smaller portions of southern central Canada, from the transitional ecotones out of eastern North American forests, west to a climatic threshold based on precipitation and soils, to the southern reaches of the Flint Hills in Oklahoma, to a transition into forest in Manitoba.
The Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, in Osage County, Oklahoma near Foraker, Oklahoma, is the largest protected tract of tallgrass prairie in the world. Managed by The Nature Conservancy, the preserve contains 39,650 acres (160 km2) owned by the Conservancy and another 6,000 acres (24 km2) leased in what was the original tallgrass region of the Great Plains that stretched from Texas to Manitoba.
Platanthera leucophaea, commonly known as the prairie white fringed orchid or eastern prairie fringed orchid, is a rare species of orchid native to North America. It is a federally threatened species, protected since October 30, 1989 under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. In Canada, it has been listed endangered under Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act since 2005. In 2014, the International Union for Conservation of Nature assessed it as "least concern."
Platanthera yadonii, also known as Yadon's piperia or Yadon's rein orchid, is an endangered orchid endemic to a narrow range of coastal habitat in northern Monterey County, California. In 1998 this plant was designated as an endangered species by the United States government, the major threat to its survival being continuing land development from an expanding human population and associated habitat loss. One of the habitats of Yadon's piperia, the Del Monte Forest near Monterey, California, is the subject of a federal lawsuit, based upon endangerment of this organism along with several other endangered species.
The Tallgrass Aspen Parkland is an ecoregion located in southeastern Manitoba and northwestern Minnesota. The area is characterized by a mosaic of habitat types, including tallgrass prairie, aspen woodland, sedge meadow wetlands, riparian woodland, and oak savanna. A number of endangered and threatened species occur in the area, including the western prairie fringed orchid and Dakota skipper. One of Minnesota's only wild elk herds utilizes the area as well.
Eumorpha achemon, the Achemon sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Dru Drury in 1773.
The genus Platanthera belongs to the subfamily Orchidoideae of the family Orchidaceae, and comprises about 150 species of orchids. The members of this genus, known as the butterfly orchids or fringed orchids, were previously included in the genus Orchis, which is a close relative. They are distributed throughout the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. They are terrestrial and have tubercules.
The natural history of Minnesota covers the plant and animal species of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The continental climate and location of Minnesota at the physiographic intersection of the Laurentian and the Interior Plains influences its plant and animal life. Three of North America's biomes converge in Minnesota: prairie grasslands in the southwestern and western parts of the state, the eastern temperate deciduous forests in the east-central and the southeast, and the coniferous forest in the north-central and northeast.
Platanthera blephariglottis, commonly known as the white fringed orchid or white-fringed orchis, is a species of orchid of the genus Platanthera. It is considered to be an endangered species in Connecticut and Ohio, a threatened species in Florida, Maryland and Rhode Island, exploitably vulnerable in New York, and susceptible to be threatened in Québec.
Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge was created on October 12, 2004, the 545th National Wildlife Refuge in the United States. Its creation was the result of cooperation between at least 30 agencies or governmental entities. The creation of the refuge was spearheaded by The Nature Conservancy, and the initial endowment of 2,300 acres (9.3 km2) of land was donated by the Conservancy. In light of its planned final size of 37,756 acres (153 km2), it is described by the US Fish and Wildlife Service as "the largest tallgrass prairie and wetland restoration project in U.S. history."
Cypripedium candidum, known as the small white lady's slipper or white lady's slipper, is a rare orchid of the genus Cypripedium. It is native to eastern North America across the northern United States and southern Canada.
Platanthera psycodes, commonly called lesser purple fringed orchid or small purple-fringed orchid, is a species of orchid, genus Platanthera, occurring from eastern Canada to the east-central and northeastern United States. It is imperiled in Illinois, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Kentucky.
The Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve is located in southeastern Manitoba near Gardenton and Vita, this is about 50 kilometres (31 mi) south of Steinbach, Manitoba. It is one of the last remaining stands of tallgrass prairie in Manitoba and is part of the Tallgrass Aspen Parkland conservation area in Manitoba and Minnesota. Several groups and organizations help in land preservation in the Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie such as the Nature Conservancy of Canada, Nature Manitoba, Environment Canada, Manitoba Conservation and the Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation.
Spiranthes delitescens is a rare species of orchid known by the common names reclusive lady's tresses, Canelo Hills lady's tresses, and Madrean lady's tresses. It is native to Arizona in the United States, where there are only four occurrences. It is threatened by the loss and degradation of its habitat. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.
Silene regia is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common name royal catchfly. It is native to the central United States. A perennial herb, it grows from a fleshy taproot and has several erect stems growing up to 1.6 meters tall. The leaves are lance-shaped to oval and up to 12 centimeters (4.7 in) long, becoming smaller farther up the stem. The inflorescence is an array of many flowers at the top of the stem. The elongate tubular calyx of sepals is up to 2.5 centimeters (0.98 in) long and has 10 longitudinal veins. The lobes of the bright red corolla are 1 to 2 centimeters long.
The Central Great Plains are a prairie ecoregion of the central United States, part of North American Great Plains. The region runs from west-central Texas through west-central Oklahoma, central Kansas, and south-central Nebraska.
Platanthera integrilabia, commonly called white fringeless orchid, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family (Orchidaceae). It is native to the Southeastern United States. Its natural habitat is in boggy acidic seeps and flats, usually in partial open sunlight.
Platanthera aquilonis, the northern green orchid or north wind bog orchid, is a species of self-fertilizing orchid native to the United States and Canada with a widespread distribution across the two countries.
Media related to Platanthera praeclara at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Platanthera praeclara at Wikispecies
