(Botanical name: Amitostigma lepidum)

Okinawa-chidori is a herbaceous plant that belongs to the orchid family and ranges from Yakushima Island to the Okinawan Islands, including the Amamian Islands. Its main habitat is rocky tracts and roadsides near the sea. There seems to be an enormous decline of its wild growth areas lately. It is classified into Category II of the endangered species.

Its flowering season is from March to May. They bear whitish flowers with small purple spots and are very pretty. The scapes are five to fifteen centimeters long.

Last year, it was reported in a local newspaper that there was occasional illegal digging of Okinawa-chidoris by gardening buffs. Another report was that the Prefectural Public Works Section let the contractors scrape off the surface soil of some roadsides and cover them with plastic sheets for weed killing, unaware that several areas were Okinawa-chidori habitat.