Eastern Prairie Fringed Orchid 'Platanthera leucophaea' (Nuttall) Lindley Recovery Plan

摘要

The eastern prairie fringed orchid (Platanthera leucophaea (Nuttall) Lindley) is 1 of at least 200 North American orchid species, which is limited in distribution primarily by temperature and drought extremes (Correll 1950). This large and showy orchid species of North American grasslands is adapted to fire and periodic drought. Its populations are characterized by occasional periods of dormancy or mass flowering. Hawkmoths (Sphingidae) pollinate the eastern prairie fringed orchid at night (Bowles 1983, Sheviak and Bowles 1986, Bowles et al. 1992). The eastern prairie fringed orchid was formerly widespread in prairies and wetlands primarily east of the Mississippi River, while its western species pair, Platanthera praeclara, (Sheviak and Bowles 1981) ranged west of the Mississippi.