Discovering The Gifts of The Appalachian Trail….Puma Style…Yellow Fringed Orchid (Ciliaris)

I have spotted these beautiful orchids right on the trail a few times in the last 800 miles.
My entire hike was documented in the perspective of science in the natural world.
With the numerous terrains and geographical locals, I was able to record many specimens to
share the way I see hiking the Appalachian Trail.

The plants are native to sphagnum and sedge bogs, swamps, marshes, wet sandy barrens, thickets on borders of streams and ponds, moist woods, wet meadows, prairies, and in deep humus of upland forests in the Eastern United States and Canada.

This rare plant is threatened by loss of habitat, harvesting, and changes in land management practices, such as fire suppression, in much of its native range. It is listed as threatened by many states and is probably locally extinct in Canada


The Cherokee and Seminoles as well as other Native Peoples in the Eastern United States used the yellow-fringed orchid for medicinal and other purposes. The roots were used to make infusions to treat diarrhea. The roots were also used to treat snakebites. A cold infusion of the root was taken to relieve headaches. A piece of the root was used on fishhooks to “make the fish bite better.” In Florida, it was known as “rattle snake’s master” and was used both internally and externally to treat snakebite.