Spiranthes vernalisEngelm. & A.Gray

Spring lady's tresses

WFO wfo-0000313502 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Spiranthes vernalis, photographed by Alan Jeon
fig. a Alan Jeon, CC0 1.0 / 2022-05-28 / obs. 201580821
Spiranthes vernalis, photographed by Leila Dasher
fig. b Leila Dasher, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 178203357
Spiranthes vernalis, photographed by Elias
fig. c Elias, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 152331951
Spiranthes vernalis, photographed by Elias
fig. d Elias, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 150964142
Spiranthes vernalis, photographed by Elias
fig. e Elias, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 150817659
Spiranthes vernalis, photographed by Elias
fig. f Elias, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 150817927
Spiranthes vernalis, photographed by Elias
fig. g Elias, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 150723578
Spiranthes vernalis, photographed by Elias
fig. h Elias, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 150687841

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 36 botanical countries

Regions where Spiranthes vernalis is native: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Southeast, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Québec, Rhode I., South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Bahamas, Guatemala AlabamaArkansasConnecticutFloridaGeorgiaIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMarylandMassachusettsMexico NortheastMexico SoutheastMississippiMissouriNebraskaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew YorkNorth CarolinaOhioOklahomaPennsylvaniaQuébecSouth CarolinaTennesseeTexasVirginiaWest VirginiaGuatemala DelawareDistrict of ColumbiaRhode I.Bahamas
Native distribution of Spiranthes vernalis, 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
Alabama ALA NORTHERN AMERICA
Arkansas ARK
Connecticut CNT
Delaware DEL
District of Columbia WDC
Florida FLA
Georgia GEO
Illinois ILL
Indiana INI
Iowa IOW
Kansas KAN
Kentucky KTY
Louisiana LOU
Maryland MRY
Massachusetts MAS
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mississippi MSI
Missouri MSO
Nebraska NEB
New Hampshire NWH
New Jersey NWJ
New York NWY
North Carolina NCA
Ohio OHI
Oklahoma OKL
Pennsylvania PEN
Québec QUE
Rhode I. RHO
South Carolina SCA
Tennessee TEN
Texas TEX
Virginia VRG
West Virginia WVA
Bahamas BAH SOUTHERN AMERICA
Guatemala GUA

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 19 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.

  • Gyrostachys ensifolia (Rchb.f.) Kuntze
  • Gyrostachys linearis Rydb.
  • Gyrostachys praecox (Britton, Sterns & Poggenb.) Kuntze
  • Gyrostachys reverchonii Small
  • Gyrostachys vernalis (Engelm. & A.Gray) Kuntze
  • Gyrostachys xyridifolia Small
  • Ibidium vernale (Engelm. & A.Gray) House
  • Ibidium vernalis (Engelm. & A.Gray) House
  • Ophrys aestivalis Michx.
  • Spiranthes ensifolia Rchb.f.
  • Spiranthes graminea var. praecox Britton, Sterns & Poggenb.
  • Spiranthes reverchonii (Small) Cory
  • Spiranthes reverchonii (Small) K.Schum.
  • Triorchis linearis (Rydb.) Nieuwl.
  • Triorchis vernalis (Engelm. & A.Gray) House
  • Triorchis xyridifolius (Small) Britton
  • Triorchos linearis (Rydb.) Nieuwl.
  • Triorchos vernalis (Engelm. & A.Gray) House
  • Triorchos xyridifolius (Small) Britton

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.