The Secret of the Orchid Flower That Resembles a White Egret

Today, I would like to talk about the secret that is hidden in the strange white orchid flower.

Before that, can you guess what this white bird is?　We call it "Shira sagi" (white egret).  "Shira sagi" is a collective name for egrets that are almost entirely white, and they are categorized by body size into little egrets, intermediate egrets, and great egrets. This is an intermediate egret looking for food in a harvested rice field. 

Here is a picture of an intermediate egret flying over a rice field. Actually, this blog isn't about egrets. I would like to introduce an orchid flower that brings to mind the image of a white egret spreading its wings in flight.

This is the small wetland located in Maibara City, Shiga Prefecture, Japan where I always visit to observe various marsh plants.

Small marsh along the board walks　

You can see a unique white flower in the grassy field of the wetland. This flower is the *Sagi-so* (white egret orchid), the thema of this blog.

This is named *Sagi-so* in Japanese, and its scientific name is Pecteilis radiata. By the way, *Sagi*means egret, *so*means grass.

It was given its Japanese name because its appearance resembles a white egret with its wings spread. It is a bulbous perennial plant in the orchid family that grows wild in wetlands. 

If you look closely at the flower of *Sagi-so* (egret orchid), you will see a gaping hole at the base of the white petals.  What for？

Actually, a slender, tube-like organ is connected from this hole.

Viewed from behind, it's a 3-4 cm long organ called a spur. Nectar accumulates at a spur end. Therefore, only insects with long mouthparts to match the length of the flower's spur could access it. For example, such as the white-lined sphinx moth can do it.

By the way, violet flowers also have a spur, but *Sagi-so* is far longer.

This is a different *Sagi-so* 

The spur has been already formed at the bud stage.

As for the photo I showed earlier, you can see a pair of yellow stamens over the hole.  When flower-visiting insects come to feed on nectar, pollen sticks to their faces—particularly their compound eyes—and pollen is carried to distant locations.

The photos were taken between the end of August and the beginning of September 2026.