Cumberland Plateau’s Rare White Fringeless Orchid Up For Federal Protection

The Cumberland Plateau is home to a rare orchid that has become so scarce it’s now up for federal protection. The Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed putting the white fringeless orchid on the Endangered Species list under a “threatened” status.

“Left unmanaged, the plant’s range and abundance will likely continue to diminish,” says a release from the agency.

“In proposing to list the white fringeless orchid as threatened, we are acknowledging the severity of the threats it faces, and hopefully sounding a warning that will bring the increased conservation efforts needed to recover the plant before it’s situation becomes more dire,” southeast regional director Cindy Dohner said in a statement.

The
wild orchid is spindly and delicate and is only identifiable during the month of August while in bloom, even for trained botanists.

Wildlife officials won’t even say precisely where this flower is found except that there are 58 known occurrences across the southeast, mostly in Tennessee. There have been a few instances of poaching, though Roger McCoy, who heads Tennessee’s division over natural areas, says he’s not sure why anyone would dig them up just to watch them die.

“I really don’t know,” he says. “I would assume it’s individuals just wanting to have a pretty plant in their yard. But orchids are very difficult to cultivate in that manner.”

More often, changes in habitat are the problem, he says. The white fringeless orchid likes boggy conditions, which can be altered by removal of beaver dams or other changes to watersheds like the construction of ponds. Deer and feral hogs have also been an issue, so fencing has been erected around one Tennessee site.

This particular orchid depends on just three kinds of butterflies for pollination and a single species of fungi. Its seeds also lack nutrient reserves for survival and are only dispersed by the wind.

The white fringeless orchid has been a candidate for federal listing since 1999. Public comments can be submitted (
here) through mid-November.