Habenaria Orchids

HABENARIA (ha-bee-nay’-ri-ah) – A genus of hardy, native terrestrial orchids, popularly known as Fringed or Rein Orchis, having white, yellow, purple or orange blossoms with the lip of the flower often beautifully fringed and spurred. They grow on leafy stalks, the racemes or spikes of flowers sometimes reaching a height of 5 ft. The group includes some of our loveliest native orchids, nearly all of which may be easily naturalized on the edge of the bog garden in light shade, if given a strongly acid, peaty soil, kept constantly moist, but well drained.

Principal Species

Habenaria blephariglottis (White-fringed Orchis; Plume-of-Navarre) has feathery spires of pure white, fragrant blossoms with both petals and lip fringed. Growing in peat bogs and pine barrens, it often reaches 2 ft.

Habenaria fimbriata (Large Purple-fringed Orchis) sometimes growing as high as 5 ft., has exceedingly beautiful loose racemes’ of lilac to white flowers, the petals toothed, and the 3-parted lip profusely fringed. An excellent species to plant on the edge of a pool or by a brook.

Habenaria ciliaris (Yellow-fringed Orchis, Orange-fringe) is the only orange-colored orchid native to the North East States. It bears a handsome cluster of brilliant orange spurred flowers, the lip often compoundly fringed, on a leafy stalk, sometimes 30 in. tall. As it grows naturally in the open, the Orange-fringe may be naturalized in acid or sub-acid soil on the edge of a thicket in the wild garden and on hummocks in the open bog garden.