Lacelip Ladies'-tresses

Spiranthes laciniata

Found in pond cypress depressions and savannas, swamps, maritime wet grasslands, lake margins. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

22

Good

Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 94%

Height: Up to about 3 feet
Light: Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture: Moist to wet

Will it fit your yard?

Spiranthes laciniata — bloom photograph — Nathan Howell; Howell, Krings and Braham (2016) · CC BY 4.0 · Original photograph

At a glance

Life cycle: Perennial
Bloom: May to August

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Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 1 Virginia county.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 4

Sandy Pine Savanna, Rush Featherling subtype — Sandy pine savanna. Shown: Shaken Creek Preserve, Pender and Onslow Counties, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Sandy Pine Savanna, Rush Featherling subtype, Robert Thornhill, undated. CC BY 4.0. Source record.

Yellow butterwort beside a moss-hung coastal pond — Regional / representative. Shown: Southern coastal pond margins, Florida and Louisiana to North Carolina; state not identified, a neighboring state.Yellow butterwort beside a moss-hung coastal pond, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.

View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina — Named place / source context. Shown: Great Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, as titled by Museum of Fine Arts Boston; nineteenth-century artistic interpretation, a neighboring state.View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, Regis Francois Gignoux, 1850. Public domain. Source record.

Barrens native plants returning after prescribed fire, September 2020 — Barrens grassland after a prescribed fire. Shown: Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, a neighboring state.Barrens native plants returning after prescribed fire, September 2020, NPS Photo / Rick Olson, September 2020. Public domain. Source record.

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 106 animals.

Lapland Longspur
Calcarius lapponicus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Least Bittern
Ixobrychus exilis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Least Sandpiper
Calidris minutilla
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Larus fuscus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Lesser Scaup
Aythya affinis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Lesser Yellowlegs
Tringa flavipes
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Little Blue Heron
Egretta caerulea
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Little Gull
Hydrocoloeus minutus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Mallard
Anas platyrhynchos
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Marsh Wren
Cistothorus palustris
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Merlin
Falco columbarius
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Northern Cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Northern Pintail
Anas acuta
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Stelgidopteryx serripennis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Northern Shoveler
Anas clypeata
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Osprey
Pandion haliaetus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Palm Warbler
Dendroica palmarum
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Peregrine Falcon
Falco peregrinus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Pied-billed Grebe
Podilymbus podiceps
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Pine Siskin
Carduelis pinus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Prothonotary Warbler
Protonotaria citrea
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Purple Martin
Progne subis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Purple Sandpiper
Calidris maritima
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Red-breasted Merganser
Mergus serrator
Birds. 1 shared habitat

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

1CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Spiranthes

Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

4BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Spiranthes

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0

0Specialist beesPollen specialists

—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Orchidaceae
Flower color: White or yellow

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Bloom · “May to August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Flower color · “White or yellow” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Height · “Up to about 3 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Soil · “Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia

Also known as

Lacelip Ladies' tresses

Conservation status

Virginia rank	SH
Global rank	G4G5
VA status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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How to check your spot

Sources