White Fringeless Orchid / Center For Plant Conservation
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Plant Profile

White Fringeless Orchid (Platanthera integrilabia)

Platanthera integrilabia from wild population in Georgia. 

 Photo Credit: Ian Sabo
  • Global Rank: G2 - Imperiled
  • Legal Status: Federally Threatened
  • Family: Orchidaceae
  • State: AL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN
  • Nature Serve ID: 155927
  • Lifeform: Forb/herb
  • Categories of Interest: Orchids
  • Date Inducted in National Collection:
Description:

This species prefers moderately shaded to open, sunny conditions and can remain vegetative or dormant without enough sunlight. It is also sensitive to changes in hydrology. Considered Imperiled by NatureServe with a G2 ranking, it is federally listed as Threatened. Most known populations occur on public lands.

Where is White Fringeless Orchid (Platanthera integrilabia) located in the wild?

Habitat:

White fringeless orchid occurs in acidic seeps and boggy areas associated with streams.

States & Provinces:

White Fringeless Orchid can historically be found in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee

Which CPC Partners conserve White Fringeless Orchid (Platanthera integrilabia)?

  • Atlanta Botanical Garden

    Not Sponsored
    Conservation Actions
    Assigned 04/30/19
    • CPC's Plant Sponsorship Program provides long term stewardship of rare plants in our National Collection. We are so grateful for all our donors who have made the Plant Sponsorship Program so successful. We are in the process of acknowledging all our wonderful plant sponsorship donors on our website. This is a work in progress and will be updated regularly.

    Conservation Actions

    Tina Stanley
    • 10/10/2023
      • Reintroduction

    "ABG has led the management and restoration of Piedmont bogs and seeps on public and private land and has seen populations rebound after decades without flowering. The Kentucky Natural Heritage Program, within the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves, is actively managing habitat containing this species. The Kentucky NHP and North Carolina Plant Conservation Program (NCPCP) have partnered with ABG to reintroduce material propagated ex situ to reintroduce lost populations. If successful, these reintroductions will contribute to developing guidelines to document and inform management across the range that can be shared through the Piedmont Prairie Partnership (PPP) and Southern Appalachian Bog Learning Network (BLN) and inform conservation management actions." (ABG 2023)

    Tina Stanley
    • 10/10/2023
      • Propagation Research

    "In 2022, ABG collected roots from the Talladega National Forest in Alabama and the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee. ABG meticulously cultured mycorrhizal fungi through a well-defined process, including soil debriding, surface sterilization before placement on Fungal Isolation Media, peloton extraction, culturing, and crucial genetic identification. In 2021, ABG identified a diverse range of fungi, including Calonectria, Ilyonectria, Agaricales, Pestalotiopsis, Sordariales, Hypoxylon fuscum, Hypoxylon fendleri, and Xylariaceae. In 2023, ABG is again attempting to isolate known orchid mycorrhizae and have had early success and will identify new fungal isolates in the near future. By identifying known orchid mycorrhizal fungi, ABG will leverage the identified orchid mycorrhizal fungi to improve seed germination methods and enhance the survival rates of plants reintroduced to their natural habitats." (ABG 2023)

    Tina Stanley
    • 10/10/2023
      • Seed Collection Orthodox Seed Banking

    "Atlanta Botanical Garden's Conservation Seed Bank currently contains > 100 P. integrilabia maternal lines (MLs), each contributing to a collection of well over 10,000 seeds. These seeds were collected from various locations, including Talladega National Forest in AL, Cherokee National Forest in TN, Desoto State Park in AL, and two privately owned populations in the Piedmont region of Georgia." (ABG 2023)

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    Nomenclature
    Taxon Platanthera integrilabia
    Authority (Correll) Luer
    Family Orchidaceae
    CPC Number 3519
    ITIS 43429
    USDA PLIN6
    Duration Perennial
    Common Names Monkey Face Orchid | White Fringeless Orchid
    Associated Scientific Names Platanthera integrilabia
    Distribution
    State Rank
    State State Rank
    Alabama S2
    Georgia S1S2
    Kentucky S1
    Mississippi S1
    North Carolina SH
    South Carolina S1
    Tennessee S2S3
    Ecological Relationships

    Photos

    Platanthera integrilabia from wild population in Georgia. 

    Photo Credit: Ian Sabo

    P. integrilabia roots used to identify and and culture orchid mycorrhizal fungi.

    Photo Credit: Grant Morton

    Joe Stockert, Field Biologist, ABG, assesses a P. integrilabia infructescence for seed collection at Cherokee National Forest.

    Photo Credit: Ian Sabo

    Platanthera integrilabia in bloom at Talladega National Forest.

    Photo Credit: Ian Sabo

    Kentucky successfully transplanted close to 1000 White fringeless orchid (Platanthera integrilabia) plants into high quality wetland habitat in April 2025.   This was the first introduction of a rare orchid in Kentucky!  We set up this introduction with different fungal inoculant treatments to determine best practices for introducing orchids and their fungal symbionts. This project was a partnership between the office of Kentucky nature preserves, Atlanta botanical garden, United States forest service and United States fish and wildlife service. 

    Photo Credit: Tara Littlefield

    Videos
    SeppCon 2024: Conservation & Safeguarding
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    Reintroduction
    Lead Institution State Reintroduction Type Year of First Outplanting
    Tennessee Valley Authority Tennessee Reintroduction 2017

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