(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

Last summer, I spent a day driving along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. I wasn’t really looking for any specific wildflowers – rather was just curious what I’d find. One of the big surprises came when I took a closer look at a splash of purple I spotted along the side of the road. I’d found one of the native orchids – the Small Purple Fringed Orchid – platanthera psycodes. And once I knew what to look for – I spotted several of them along the side of the road north of Asheville.

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

Also known as the Lesser Purple Fringed Orchid – these wonderful wild orchids are native to much of the Eastern United States and Canada. In several states – Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island and Tennessee – they are listed as endangered or threatened.

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

The botanical name – platanthera psycodes – describes the flowers beautifully. Platanthera is from Greek for flat flower. While psycodes means like a butterfly. To me – describing these orchids as flat flowers like a butterfly seems pretty accurate.

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

Small Purple Fringed Orchids grow in woodlands, meadows and marshes, preferably in partial shade. They grow to about 2 feet tall – with an 8″ cluster of pinkish-purple fringed flowers.

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

Medicinally, the Small Purple Fringed Orchids were used by Native Americans as a remedy for cramps in young children.

More information about the Small Purple Fringed Orchids can be found online at

USDA Plant Profile

Robert W. Freckmann Herbarium University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point

Orchids Wiki

Flora of North America

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Native American Ethnobotany