Older scientific names for Platanthera integra include: Gymnadeniopsis integra, Habenaria integra.
This plant is on the The New Jersey Natural Heritage Program "List of Endangered Plant Species and Plant Species of Concern". For more information click "More info" button above or scroll down to the bottom.
Platanthera integra, yellow fringeless orchid, is a native herbaceous perennial plant that grows in wet areas of the pine barrens, savannas, and sandy woods. It blooms in July, August.
Flowers
The yellow to orange flowers grow in a dense cluster that forms a spike (flowers are sessile) on an upright stalk. Each flower has three sepals that are rounded and have smooth margins. It also has 3 petals. The petals have crenulated (wavy and notched) margins that can be easily seen on the distinctive third petal, lip/labellum. A spur is connected to the back of the lip that contains nectar.
The first photo in this section shows a flower cluster. The flowers mature from the bottom.
The next two side view photos show the relative spur and bract lengths. Also seen are the crenulations of the labellum
The front view closeup shows all the sepals and petals. You can see the mouth of the spur at the base of the lip. When an insect reaches in to obtain the nectar it at the same time comes into contact with the pollen and stigma.
Plant and leaves
The plant has a single erect stalk with a cluster of flowers on top that form a spike. The plant is 1- 2 ft tall. Along the stem are narrow lanceolate sheathing leaves, larger at the base and rapidly reduced to bracts upward. This can be seen in the first photo with three plants. The next three photos show close ups of a bract, a lower leaf and a bunch of lower leaves from 3 plants.
All photos by H & M Ling, 8/5/2017, Pine barrens NJ.
Additional information
Additional information / references:
Distribution and Prevalence:
The USDA website shows the NJ population of P. integra is a northern outlier. https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=PLIN5
Plants of Southern Jersey on P. integra: https://www.cumauriceriver.org/botany/Platanthera_integra.html
The NatureServe website shows P. integra is S1 or S2 or S3 in all the states that it is found in http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Platanthera+integra
Other References
Flora of North America: http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242101840
Go Orchids: http://goorchids.northamericanorchidcenter.org/species/platanthera/integra/
USDA: Plant of the Week: https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/platanthera_integra.shtml