Woodland Ladies'-tresses
Spiranthes sylvatica
Found in pine-oak forests and woodlands, dry oak-hickory forests, live oak hammocks, interdune swales, rich dry forests, other woodlands. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 65%
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
At a glance
- Bloom
- March to June
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves
Height: NC species account not read yet.
Spread, life cycle and leaves: no source found yet.
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 2 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.
Habitats
Forests and woodlands; dry forests and woodlands; Coastal dunes and beaches.
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats
Who uses this plant?
1CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Spiranthes
- Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
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 claimNo records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Orchidaceae
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Late March to June” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Light · “Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Woodland Ladies' tresses
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- FloraQuest: Florida (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: Northern Tier (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications