The open plant encyclopedia
Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.
The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.
Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.
Spiranthes porrifolia
Also called Western ladies' tresses, Creamy Ladies' Tresses, Western Lady's Tresses
Creamy lady's tresses is a native North American terrestrial orchid that grows from tuberous roots and produces a dense spiral of cream to yellowish flowers on a tall stem. It is best suited to moist, cool sites such as meadows, fens and stream banks rather than typical garden beds.
Spiranthes porrifolia is a species of orchid known by the common names creamy lady's tresses and western ladies' tresses. It is native to the western United States from Washington and Idaho to southern California. It can be found in moist habitats, such as mountain meadows, swamps, fens, and riverbanks. It is a perennial herb growing from a tuberous root system, reaching a maximum height around 60 cm (24 in). The leaves are mainly located around the base of the erect stem. They are linear or lance-shaped, or sometimes nearly oval. The top of the stem is occupied by the inflorescence, a dense spiral of many flowers. Each flower is somewhat tubular, with an upper and lower lip, and cream to yellowish in color.
The specific epithet porrifolia is Latin for "leek-leaved".
Summer lady's-tresses · Appalachian ladies' tresses · Spiranthes australis · Atlantic Ladies' Tresses · Texas lady's tresses · Case's lady's tresses · Nodding lady's tresses · Reclusive lady's tresses · Ute lady's tresses · Eaton's lady's tresses · Canelo lady's tresses · Fire Ladies' Tresses
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Spiranthes porrifolia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
