Prairie White-fringed Orchid (Platanthera leucophaea)

Synonym: Habenaria leucophaea

Status: endangered in Wisconsin; threatened in U.S.

Habitat Description: mesic prairies, especially on calcareous, rich, sandy or deep black soils, and degraded sedge meadows

Habitat Classification
WI NHI: Wet-Mesic Prairie, Mesic Prairie, Southern Sedge Meadow, and Tamarack Fen
Curtis: Wet-Mesic Prairie, Mesic Prairie, Southern Sedge Meadow, and Tamarack Fen
Kotar:
Forest Cover:

Range: Dane, Grant, Green, Jefferson, Kenosha, La Crosse, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Rock, Sauk, Sheboygan, Walworth, Waukesha, and Winnebago

Comments: because this long-lived plant apparently can go dormant, local populations may fluctuate greatly from year to year

Phenology: flowering times are variable, but peak times are mid-June to August

Field Guides:
Britton and Brown (Habenaria leucophaea), p.1:463/p.1:463
Gleason 1963 (Habenaria leucophaea), p.225
Gleason 1991 (Habenaria leucophaea), p.858
Newcomb (Habenaria leucophaea), p.42/p.43
Peterson (Habenaria leucophaea), p.16/p.17
Voss I (Habenaria leucophaea), p.443
Zimmerman (Habenaria leucophaea), p.12/p.12