Seed germination and proper plant growth rely on the joint relationship between the plants' reduced root systems and a soil-inhabiting fungus for proper nutrition and water uptake. The Eastern Prairie Fringed Orchid needs full sun for optimum growth and reproduction. It is found in tall grass, silt-loam, or sand prairies, sedge meadows, lakeshore grasslands, fens, and occasionally sphagnum (peat or moss) bogs.