Location: Lackawanna County,  North East Pennsylvania

Walking through our woods last summer,  Klaus came across this interesting plant. Not knowing what it was but hoping it might be a native Orchid or something equally pretty,  we protected it with a cage. It came back this year, looking healthy and very intriguing. This single plant is growing in mixed forest near the edge of a field. We combed acres of wood and did not find another one like it.

June 20.1999 A nice looking monocot, whatisit?

June 10.2000   Almost a year later -  this is the protected plant. It is spiking!

July 2. 2000 Looking great inside the protecting cage! Many of the Bottled Gentians and other tender plants around it have now been  nibbled away. Deer will eat the tops of ANYTHING GREEN in sight. Without protection it would not have survived!  The whole plant plus spike measures about 1 and 1/2 feet in height. The ca. 20 buds are developing spurs! This is getting very interesting! Platanthera???

July 19.2000 Here it is -  in full bloom

18 greenish white flowers, very pretty and delicate!  The two feet tall spike looks somewhat iridescent  across the forest floor. It is beautiful!

Consulting 'Wild Orchids of the Northeastern United States' a field guide  by P. M. Brown, 'Wild Orchids of the Middle Atlantic States' by Gupton and Swope, and 'The Orchid Paintings of Franz Bauer'  (his painting depicts the Orchid in minute details, the three lobed fringed lip is well described.) this is Platanthera lacera/ Habenaria lacera Green Fringed Orchis, or Ragged Orchis / Ragged Fringed Orchid. (from the latin word lacera = 'torn')

Here is another photo, I took many.....

Attempting to get a better close up with my digital camera,  another try.

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