Platanthera integrilabia (Correll) Luer
White Fringeless Orchid
Federal Protection: Listed Threatened
State Protection: Threatened
Global Rank: G2
State Rank: S1S2
Element Locations Tracked in Biotics: Yes
SWAP 2015 Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN): Yes
SWAP 2025 Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN): Yes
2025 SGCN Priority Tier: Highest Conservation Concern
Element Occurrences (EOs) in Georgia: 12
Habitat Summary for element in Georgia: Red maple-gum swamps; peaty seeps and streambanks with Parnassia asarifolia and Oxypolis rigidior
Perennial herb with an erect, green, slender, hairless stem 20 - 32 inches (50 - 80 cm) tall, often found in colonies of non-flowering, single-leaved, juvenile plants. Leaves are 4.7 - 9 inches (12 - 23 cm) long and 0.4 - 1.3 inches (1 - 3.2 cm) wide, alternate; 2 or 3 large leaves, folded along a strong central vein, are at mid- to lower stem; 2 or 3 small, bract-like leaves are near the top of the stem. Flowers are 6 - 15 in number, white, in a small, somewhat lax cluster at the top of the stem. Two rounded lateral sepals droop down and backward; one oval upper sepal overlaps with 2 petals to form a hood over the center of the flower. The lip petal is 0.4 - 0.6 inch (1 - 1.5 cm) long, spoon-shaped with slightly toothed (not fringed) margins. The spur, a backward extension of the lip petal, is 1.4 - 2.4 inches (3.5 - 6 cm) long, curves down behind the flower. The fruit is a slender capsule, 0.6 - 0.9 inch (1.6 - 2.2 cm) long, with many tiny, dust-like seeds.
No other white-flowered species of Platanthera occurs in north Georgia. Monkeyface Orchid often occurs with Green Woodland Orchid (Platanthera clavellata), which has similar leaves but yellowish-green flowers.
Ten species of Platanthera are rare in Georgia. For more information, see: https://www.georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/element_lists?group=plant
Seepage sphagnum bogs, springheads, seepy stream banks, Red Maple-Black Gum swamps. Often grows with Primrose-leaved Violet, Green Woodland Orchid, Cowbane, and Grass-of-Parnassus.
Monkeyface Orchid is pollinated by large butterflies, such as swallowtails, whose long tongues are adapted to probing the long, nectar-containing spur. During the process of probing for nectar, sticky packets of pollen adhere to the front of the insects’ heads and are brushed off onto the stigmas of flowers that are subsequently visited. Flowers must be cross-pollinated for fruit to set. Each fruit contains thousands of dust-like seeds that are dispersed by wind and gravity. The seeds contain no stored food reserves (endosperm), and must land on a patch of soil containing a specific fungus that provides nutrients for germination and subsequent plant growth.
Surveys are best conducted during flowering (mid-July–late August).
Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky; populations in North Carolina have been destroyed.
Logging, off-road vehicles, residential and commercial development, canopy closure, browsing by deer, digging by feral hogs, ditching and draining of wetlands, pollution and sedimentation into streams, damming of streams, road construction through habitat, invasion by exotic pest plants such as Kudzu, digging by feral hogs, plant poaching, changes in hydrology due to altered temperature and rainfall patterns related to climate change. Many populations are small and have low reproductive rates.
| Threat 1 | Threat 2 | Threat 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Threat | Natural system modifications | Natural system modifications | Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases |
| Specific Threat | None | None | None |
Platanthera integrilabia is ranked S1S2 by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, indicating that it is imperiled in Georgia. It is listed as Threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the State of Georgia. Twelve populations have been documented, nine of which have been confirmed since 2000. Three populations occur on conservation land.
Avoid logging, soil compaction by off-road vehicles, ditching, and draining in wetlands. Use fire and hand-clearing to create sunny openings and prevent woody species invasion. Protect streams from sedimentation and impoundment. Eradicate exotic pest plants and feral hogs. Prosecute plant poachers. Address hydrological changes related to climate change.
Argue, C.L. 2012. The pollination biology of North American orchids: Volume 1, North of Florida and Mexico, Part II: subfamily Orchidoideae (part one), Chapter 8, Platanthera. Springer Science+ Business Media, LLC. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2F978-1-4614-0592-4.pdf
Brown, P.M. and S.N. Folsom. 2004. Wild orchids of the southeastern United States, north of peninsular Florida. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.
Chafin, L.G. 2007. Field guide to the rare plants of Georgia. State Botanical Garden of Georgia and University of Georgia Press, Athens.
Drake, J. 2013. Fringed orchids of the southeastern United States: a guide to the genus Platanthera. Breath o’ Spring, Inc. P.O. Box 2957, Suwanee, Georgia 30024.
GADNR. 2020. Element occurrence records for Platanthera integrilabia. Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division, Social Circle, Georgia.
Kral, R. 1983. A report on some rare, threatened, or endangered forest-related vascular plants of the South. Technical Publication R8-TP2. United States Forest Service, Atlanta.
Luer, C.A. 1975. The native orchids of the United States and Canada, excluding Florida. New York Botanical Garden, New York.
McKeever, S. 2001. Some native orchids of the southeastern United States. Tipularia, Journal of the Georgia Botanical Society 16: 22-31.
NatureServe. 2019. Platanthera integrilabia comprehensive report. NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Platanthera+integrilabia
Patrick, T.S., J.R. Allison, and G.A. Krakow. 1995. Protected plants of Georgia. Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program, Social Circle.
Ranger, L.S. 1994. Monkeying around: a rare orchid and its taxonomy. Tipularia, Journal of the Georgia Botanical Society 9: 7-13.
Sheviak, C.J. 2003. Platanthera integrilabia species account. Flora of North America, Vol. 26. Oxford University Press, New York. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242101841
USFWS. 2019. White Fringeless Orchid, Platanthera integrilabia species account and related documents. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp0/profile/speciesProfile?sId=1889
USFWS. 2016. White Fringeless Orchid, Platanthera integrilabia fact sheet. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. https://www.fws.gov/mississippies/_pdf/WhiteFringelessOrchid_final_fact_sheet.pdf
Weakley, A.S. 2015. Flora of the southern and mid-Atlantic States. University of North Carolina Herbarium, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. http://www.herbarium.unc.edu/flora.htm
Zettler, L.W., N.S. Ahuja, and T.M. McInnis, Jr. 1996. Insect pollination of the endangered Monkey-face Orchid (Platanthera integrilabia) in McMinn County, Tennessee. Castanea 61(1): 14-24. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4033746?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
Zettler, L. W. and J. E. Fairey, III. 1990. The status of Platanthera integrilabia, an endangered terrestrial orchid. Lindleyana 5: 212-217. https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/19910307303
Linda G. Chafin
L. Chafin, Jul. 2008: original account
K. Owers, Feb. 2010: added pictures
G. Krakow, Apr. 2016: updated federal legal status and USFWS reference
L. Chafin, Mar. 2020: updated original account
