Orchid Power - Yellow Fringed Orchid

Orchid Power
Yellow Fringed Orchid

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. Blooming time is variable, but usually from late June in the North to late September in the South.

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.

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.