Cephalanthera austiniae

Phantom orchid

Family: Orchidaceae · Type: perennial · Native

The phantom orchid is a California native perennial found in northwestern California, the Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, San Francisco Bay Area, northern southern Coast Ranges, San Bernardino Mountains, and Peninsular Ranges in decomposed litter of rich soil within mixed-evergreen and conifer forests at elevations below 2,200 meters. Flowering from March to July, this plant produces distinctive pure white flowers with delicate, elliptic sepals 12 to 20 millimeters long and a unique lip with a yellow, papillate spot. Growing 20 to 55 centimeters tall, the plant emerges pale white and gradually transitions to yellowish or brownish tones with an elegant, slender profile. Its flowers feature a complex lip that folds lengthwise, with a lower section that is lobed and an upper section that is reflexed, creating an intricate and sculptural appearance. The orchid's column measures 6 to 9 millimeters long, with an anther stalk that is characteristically hinge-like.

Habitat: Decomposed litter of rich soil in mixed-evergreen or conifer forest

Bloom period: Mar-Jul

Elevation: < 2200 m

Bioregions: NW, CaR, SNH, SnFrB, n SCoRO, SnBr, PR

California counties: Humboldt, Butte, Siskiyou, Trinity, Mendocino, Mariposa, Del Norte, Tehama, Sierra, Tulare, Tuolumne, El Dorado, Plumas, Yuba, Glenn, Lake, Fresno, Calaveras, Shasta, Monterey, Colusa, Placer, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Sonoma

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.