Spiranthes cernua, commonly called nodding lady's tresses,[2] or nodding ladies' tresses,[3] is a species of orchid occurring from Maritime Canada to the eastern and southern United States.

[7] Cernua is from the Greek word cernuus and refers to the drooping or bowing flowers.

[2] Spiranthes cernua grows in wet meadows, mossy seeps, maritime dune swallows, Sphagnum areas around pond and lake edges and along roadsides.

[4] Native bees, including bumblebees, feed on the nectar and pollinate the plant.

Charles Sheviak, now retired curator of the New York State Museum Herbarium, explored this diversity in great detail,[10] eventually describing Spiranthes magnicamporum to represent large, later-flowering individuals with tuberous roots from the Midwest.