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Eastern prairie white-fringed orchid Listed: 9/28/1989 Status since listing: Unknown The eastern prairie white-fringed orchid (Platanthera leucophaea) once occurred from Maine west to southern Ontario and Michigan, southern Wisconsin, southeastern Iowa and south to Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas, east to central Virginia and Pennsylvania [1]. Most populations are concentrated in the southern Great Lakes region in southern Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, and southern Lower Michigan. The eastern prairie white-fringed orchid is extirpated from much of its large historic range including Indiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and South Dakota, and is very rare throughout its current range [3]. Most of this species' wet prairie habitat has been destroyed due to drainage and conversion to agriculture, fire suppression, and intensive mowing. Because of the destruction of most of the natural grasslands east of the Mississippi River, large populations no longer occur anywhere in the United States (the only population with more than 2000 individuals is in Ontario, Canada). The mostly small, isolated populations that remain are not representative of populations supported by the once-vast prairie habitat, and many are only infrequently visited by appropriate pollinators [3]. The eastern prairie white-fringed orchid was listed as an endangered species in 1989, but significant population trend data since then are not currently available [2]. A rangewide recovery assessment will be conducted in the summer of 2006 and will document population trends in recent decades. [1] U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1999. Eastern Prairie White-fringed Orchid, Platanthera leucophaea (Nuttall) Lindley Recovery Plan. Fort Snelling, MN. |
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