I'm not precisely sure how the native orchids belonging to the genus Spiranthes were given the common name of Ladies'-tresses. To me, the flower heads more resemble something that could be called "corkscrew plant" than a nod to a woman's hair style... but maybe I just lack sufficient imagination. Designation notwithstanding, I know where to find these lovely blossoms, and for the first time this summer season, I spotted a few in the usual location: the old field just below the Lantern Hill trailhead. According to Paul Martin Brown's Wild Orchids of the Northeastern United States: A Field Guide, there are more than a half-dozen species likely to occur in our area, and they can be fairly tricky to tell apart. Folks who have examined this blossom image lean towards it having a yellow lip, which would make it S. lucida, the Shining Ladies'-tresses... unless, of course, it's green, which would make it S. vernalis, the Grass-leaved Ladies'-tresses. This is clearly a debate to be resolved on another trek.