Autumn Lady's Tresses

Did you know

• The tiny white flowers are arranged in a tight, elegant spiral up the stem — the genus name Spiranthes means 'coiled flowers' in Greek — and the spiral direction is consistent within each plant's lifetime but varies between plants.
• Autumn lady's tresses flowers in late August and September, one of the last orchids to bloom in Europe; the tiny flowers release a vanilla-like scent disproportionately strong for their size.
• This orchid can live for decades but is dormant underground for many years at a time between flowering bouts, making accurate population counts nearly impossible.
• The leaves appear in autumn and winter, lying flat as a basal rosette, then wither before the flowering spike emerges the following summer from a separate plant part.
• Populations across Europe have declined sharply due to intensive grassland management — the plant requires short, open turf managed by grazing rather than cutting, and is lost rapidly when swards are fertilized.

Color meanings

Uses

• ornamental
• conservation indicator
• meadow gardening