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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 ...
This prairie wetland complex hosts a great diversity of plant species. Of special interest is the federally threatened western prairie fringed orchid. Other communities found at the preserve include wet and mesic tallgrass prairie and gravel prairie, willow thickets, mixed prairie, sedge meadow, aspen woodlands and emergent marsh.
The orchid’s only known pollinators are hawkmoths, big moths that are just the right fit and size to reach the orchid's nectar, in a long spur, while also pollinating the plant. The western prairie fringed orchid is mostly found in reserves, such as the Sheyenne National Grassland in North Dakota and the Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve.
Platanthera leucophaea, commonly known as the prairie white fringed orchid [6] or eastern prairie fringed orchid, is a rare species of orchid native to North America. It is a federally threatened species, [ 7 ] protected since October 30, 1989 under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 . [ 8 ]
It is the only National Grassland in the tallgrass prairie region of the U.S. [3] The grassland provides habitat for the largest population of greater prairie chickens in North Dakota, as well as the Dakota skipper butterfly, the western prairie fringed orchid, and numerous ferns, as well as grazing land for approximately 83 cattle ranchers. [4]
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 [1] and Dakota skipper. [2]
The Tall Grass Prairie Preserve consists primarily of big bluestem (or turkey foot, resembles the bird's foot), little bluestem, porcupine needlegrass (Stipa spartea), and prairie dropseed grasses. The last known Canadian remnant population of the endangered western prairie fringed orchid (Platanthera praeclara) is within the preserve.
It is one of the recent success stories in the DNR's rare plant monitoring program, along with eastern prairie fringed orchid in Winnebago County, yellow water lily along the Galena River in ...