Click on any image to open the slideshow
Zeuxine strateumatica
Soldier's Orchid
Lawn Orchid
Centipede Grass Orchid
Not native to Florida
This annual orchid is native to Asia and now found in lawns, shrub borders, roadsides and other disturbed sites in most Florida counties. It is also now naturalized in the Southeastern coastal states from North Carolina into Texas, plus California, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
A small terrestrial plant 4-25cm (1-1/2 to 10 in.) tall, with five to twelve lanceolate leaves that are green with purple and/or tan pigmentation, 1-8cm( 3/8 to 3 in.) long and up to 1 cm (~3/8 in.) wide. The flowers are white with a yellow lip narrowing at the base. There are five to fifty flowers in a terminal spike.
Zeuxine strateumatica is a member of the Orchidaceae - Orchid family.
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Feb 11, 2021
