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Chicago Illinois Field Office
1250 South Grove, Suite 103
Barrington, Illinois 60010
Phone: 847/381-2253
FAX: 847/381-2285

Eastern Prairie Fringed Orchid
(Platanthera leucophaea)

Image: Eastern Prairie Fringed Orchid "Species Spotlight."Once a common feature in wetlands and prairies throughout much of the Midwestern United States, habitat destruction and alteration lead to the decline of this beautiful plant.  It was listed as a threatened species in 1989. 

Historical Records for this Species in Northeast Illinois are available from Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties.

The Chicago Illinois Field Office is the lead office for coordinating the Service's efforts to recover this species. In addition to arranging meetings of the Eastern Prairie Fringed Orchid Recovery Team, we regularly network and consult with other  orchid experts to discuss actions that might benefit its recovery.  We also completed (in 1999) the approved recovery plan, and have helped implement other range-wide actions to recover this species.  

In the Chicago region we hold annual meetings of land managers and others with an interest in this species, and have funded various projects which may contribute locally to its recovery.  The efforts were recently chronicled in an article that appeared in the Service's Endangered Species Bulletin.

These projects have included the Nature Conservancy's efforts to form an active and dedicated group of Eastern Prairie Fringed Orchid volunteers, as well as research into the orchid's biology, genetics, life history, and pollination requirements.  Other collaborators include botanists at the The Chicago Botanical Garden, the Morton Arboretum, and Chicago State University.
 
Some Other Pertinent Facts for Platanthera leucophaea:

Listed as threatened in 1989.  Web areas, and listing and recovery literature and dates include:


Last updated: July 8, 2008