Nodding Ladies’ Tresses
The downward “nodding” curve of its tubular flowers gives Nodding Ladies’ Tresses (Spiranthes cernua) part of its common name. ( I’m not sure where the reference to tresses, or a woman’s long locks or braid of hair, comes from.) The bright white flower spike of this relatively common member of the Orchid family stands out in moist meadows of green grasses. A perennial, Nodding Ladies’ Tresses grows between 4 and 12 inches tall, and is pollinated by both long and short-tongued nectar-seeking bees.
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