Spiranthes spiralis(L.) Chevall.

Autumn Lady's-tresses

WFO wfo-0000313451 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Spiranthes spiralis, photographed by Mehdi Chetibi
fig. a Mehdi Chetibi, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-10-15 / obs. 163761397
Spiranthes spiralis, photographed by Benjamin Carbuccia
fig. b Benjamin Carbuccia, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 162650477
Spiranthes spiralis, photographed by katunchik
fig. c katunchik, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 99773510
Spiranthes spiralis, photographed by Robert H. Wardell
fig. d Robert H. Wardell, CC0 1.0 / obs. 90741316
Spiranthes spiralis, photographed by Kostas Zontanos
fig. e Kostas Zontanos, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 24267221
Spiranthes spiralis, photographed by Сергей Грабчак
fig. f Сергей Грабчак, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 166999918
Spiranthes spiralis, photographed by Ronald Flipphi
fig. g Ronald Flipphi, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 168865205
Spiranthes spiralis, photographed by Duarte Frade
fig. h Duarte Frade, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 165921400

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 39 botanical countries

Regions where Spiranthes spiralis is native: Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Cyprus, East Aegean Is., Iran, Lebanon-Syria, North Caucasus, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Nepal, West Himalaya, Albania, Austria, Baleares, Belgium, Bulgaria, Corse, Czechia-Slovakia, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kriti, Netherlands, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, Sicilia, Spain, Switzerland, Türkiye-in-Europe, Ukraine AlgeriaMoroccoTunisiaCyprusEast Aegean Is.IranLebanon-SyriaNorth CaucasusTranscaucasusTürkiyeNepalWest HimalayaAlbaniaAustriaBelgiumBulgariaCorseCzechia-SlovakiaDenmarkFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryIrelandItalyKritiNetherlandsNW. Balkan Pen.PolandPortugalRomaniaSiciliaSpainSwitzerlandTürkiye-in-EuropeUkraine BalearesSardegna
Native distribution of Spiranthes spiralis, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Albania ALB EUROPE
Austria AUT
Baleares BAL
Belgium BGM
Bulgaria BUL
Corse COR
Czechia-Slovakia CZE
Denmark DEN
France FRA
Germany GER
Great Britain GRB
Greece GRC
Hungary HUN
Ireland IRE
Italy ITA
Kriti KRI
Netherlands NET
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Poland POL
Portugal POR
Romania ROM
Sardegna SAR
Sicilia SIC
Spain SPA
Switzerland SWI
Türkiye-in-Europe TUE
Ukraine UKR
Cyprus CYP ASIA-TEMPERATE
East Aegean Is. EAI
Iran IRN
Lebanon-Syria LBS
North Caucasus NCS
Transcaucasus TCS
Türkiye TUR
Algeria ALG AFRICA
Morocco MOR
Tunisia TUN
Nepal NEP ASIA-TROPICAL
West Himalaya WHM

Not drawn on the map: Great Britain. We hold no public-domain boundary for this region, so it is listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 18 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Epipactis spiralis (L.) Crantz
  • Gyrostachys autumnalis (Balb.) Dumort.
  • Gyrostachys spiralis (L.) Kuntze
  • Ibidium spirale (L.) Salisb.
  • Neottia autumnalis Pers.
  • Neottia autumnalis (Balb.) Steud.
  • Neottia spiralis (L.) Sw.
  • Ophrys autumnalis Balb.
  • Ophrys spiralis L.
  • Serapias spiralis (L.) Scop.
  • Spiranthes autumnalis (Balb.) Rich.
  • Spiranthes autumnalis f. bracteata E.G.Camus
  • Spiranthes autumnalis f. oycoviensis Zapał.
  • Spiranthes autumnalis f. parviflora Soó
  • Spiranthes autumnalis var. major Rouy
  • Spiranthes autumnalis var. parviflora Schur
  • Spiranthes glauca Raf.
  • Tussaca autumnalis (Balb.) Desv.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.