Studying Fungi Associated With Our Native Prairie Orchids

Yes, native orchids are found in Illinois - one just needs to know where to look for them. Many are found in remnant tallgrass prairies, including the well-known Eastern Prairie Fringed Orchid, Platanthera leucophaea - a U.S. Federally threatened species. Since 1996, the Orchid Recovery Program has studied prairie orchids, especially the fungi that they need for seed germination. During the past five years, we have teamed up with Dr. Elizabeth Esselman's lab group at Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville, to isolate, identify, and germinate seeds with the fungi we recover from orchid roots. Collectively, we have isolated ca. 100 fungus strains, many of which have been safeguarded in cryopreservation at UAMH in Canada.

Not all orchids are easy to cultivate from seed using fungi. The Eastern Prairie Fringed Orchid has been propagated from seed in our lab using our fungal isolates, but establishing seedlings into the wild remains problematic. We are now exploring new ways to establish seedlings, possibly by adding our fungal isolates to soil in designated areas followed by seed sowing. This species is assumed to be short-lived (ca. 7 years), and it is important that we continue to study this and other prairie orchids in the coming years for future generations to enjoy.