Lesser Ladies'-tresses
Spiranthes ovalis
Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 65%
- Height
- Up to about 16 inches
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source
Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
Not yet recorded · Spread · Light · Leaves · Bloom
Bloom: NC species account not read yet.
Spread, light and leaves: no source found yet.
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
County records are not available.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 87 animals.
- Common YellowthroatGeothlypis trichas
- Cooper's HawkAccipiter cooperii
- Double-crested CormorantPhalacrocorax auritus
- Downy WoodpeckerPicoides pubescens
- Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus
- Eastern PhoebeSayornis phoebe
- Eastern Screech-owlMegascops asio
- Eurasian Collared-doveStreptopelia decaocto
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- GadwallAnas strepera
- Golden-crowned KingletRegulus satrapa
- Gray CatbirdDumetella carolinensis
- Great Blue HeronArdea herodias
- Great EgretArdea alba
- Great Horned OwlBubo virginianus
- Green HeronButorides virescens
- Hairy WoodpeckerPicoides villosus
- Hooded MerganserLophodytes cucullatus
- Kentucky WarblerOporornis formosus
- Least BitternIxobrychus exilis
- Lincoln's SparrowMelospiza lincolnii
- Louisiana WaterthrushSeiurus motacilla
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
Who uses this plant?
1CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV
Genus host records with ranges including WV · 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
- Flower color
- White
What its natural habitat tells you
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “White” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 16 inches” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- primary_flower_color · “white” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Also known as
Lesser Ladies' tresses; Oval Ladies Tresses
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | S1 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5? |
| WV 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
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- West Virginia occurrence source
- 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