Lesser ladies'-tresses on the move

 

A tiny lesser ladies'-tresses orchid grows in the open woods of an Ohio prairie.

I made these images of lesser ladies'-tresses (Spiranthes ovalis) back on September 18, 2026, in an Adams County, Ohio, prairie. The diminutive orchid favors open woods and other open to semi-open haunts, and it is easy to miss due to its elfin stature. Lesser ladies'-tresses also blooms quite late, sometimes (probably increasingly) into November.

At one time, this species was included on ODNR's list of rare plant species, and when Lucy Braun published her book on the monocotyledonous flora of Ohio in 1967, she had records for only five of the southernmost counties - its northern limits at the time.

But the little orchid is on a rapid northward march, and iNaturalist now lists many dozens of records from nearly all parts of Ohio. It reached Michigan in relatively recent times, and has crossed the border into southern Ontario, Canada. And the march will undoubtedly continue.

Why the increase? I don't know for sure, and multiple factors may come into play. This little orchid is somewhat catholic in its habitat tastes, favoring an array of open haunts such as prairies, open woodlands, and old fields. So, it is somewhat adaptable should new opportunities for expansion arise.

Mean temperature increases surely play a role as well, and this would be just one of myriad organisms that are spreading northward at a rapid pace. My next Columbus Dispatch column, which I'll share here, is about armadillos and their fast expansion. They'll likely soon be regular in Ohio and other northern states.

The flowers of lesser ladies'-tresses are the smallest of Ohio's nine species of Spiranthes orchids.