Spiranthes lacera variety gracilis (Northern slender ladies'-tresses orchid)

There is a forest service road (FSR 475) in the Pisgah National Forest near Brevard, NC. Along this road can be found a wide variety of wildflowers in season.

On this day trip, I managed to locate an orchid species growing along the roadside. Thanks to directions from my friend Neil, I saw about two dozen of this tall and slender beauty in full bloom.

It's common name is appropriate, since it appears to be like the spiral, woven braids of a lady's hair. The flowers are generally less than 1/4" long (~4mm).

Some of the flowers are spiraled tightly about the stem, while others are spiraled very loosely. Apparently, the fact that it grows north of the Equator makes little difference in the direction of the spiral...

It's easy to identify this particular orchid from others in the genus Spiranthes, since it always had a green blotch in its throat.