| Author | Lindley | |
| Distribution | Limited to the southeastern Coastal Plain, nearly restricted to coastal counties from Carteret to Brunswick, with records also for Bladen and Beaufort counties.
This is a globally scarce Southeastern species, with scattered records from southeastern NC to southern FL, and west to extreme eastern TX. | |
| Abundance | Very rare to rare; one of the scarcest Spiranthes in the state. As such, it is listed as a State Endangered species. | |
| Habitat | This is a species primarily of savannas, and even within savannas it favors the wettest portions. There are a few NC records from scrapes within savannas. |
| Phenology | This is likely the latest-blooming Spiranthes (if not orchid) in the state, not in flower until late October and extending into December. It fruits shortly after flowering. | |
| Identification | This is a medium-sized ladies'-tresses in stature, generally about 1-2 feet tall. It has white to creamy-white flowers arranged in a very slight spiral around the stem, to somewhat secund (vertically arranged). It normally has quite long and spreading lateral sepals, giving each flower a somewhat "long-eared" appearance, and the lip on the inside is usually yellow to occasionally green. Flowers are also a bit larger than most other Spiranthes, being roughly 1/3-inch long. Normally, its very late blooming period -- often not in bloom until very late October or November -- along with its wet savanna habitat should suffice for identification. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | None
| |
| Other Common Name(s) | Long-lipped Ladies'-tresses, Giant Spiral Orchid | |
| State Rank | S1 | |
| Global Rank | G3 | |
| State Status | E | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | FACW link |
| USACE-emp | OBL link |
