Platanthera dilatata

Platanthera dilatata

General: Herbaceous perennial with single, densely flowered inflorescences up to 3 ft. tall.
Leaves: Simple, alternate, glabrous, lanceolate, tapering in width from base to tip.
Flowers: Sepals and petals white, sepals widely spreading, two of the petals upright and arching, forming hood-like appearance; lip widest at base and often hanging downward, spurred at base.
Fruits: Capsules, brown at maturity and containing large numbers of tiny seeds.

Distinguishing Characteristics: Flowers with a sweet, spicy fragrance; plants often growing together in fairly large numbers.
White Bog Orchid An orchid that is harder to find is the White Bog Orchid (Platanthera dilatata) in the fen at Purdon Conservation Area, Lanark, Ontario, Canada. Canada,Geotagged,Lanark,Ontario,Platanthera dilatata,Purdon Conservation Area,Summer,White Bog Orchid

Appearance

Stems stout, erect. Basal and stem leaves lance-shaped, gradually smaller upward. Inflorescence consists of waxy white flowers loosely spaced to crowded with leaves on stem. Flowers spicy-fragrant, to 1 in. across, lower petal very slender at tip and abruptly expanded near base. Spur on back of flower can be longer or shorter than lower petal and straight to slightly curved. Called bog candle because it is so noticeably sturdy and white.
Bog Candle  Geotagged,Platanthera dilatata,Summer,United States,White Bog Orchid

Distribution

Widely distributed through the mountainous and forested areas of Washington; Alaska south to California, east to the Rocky Mountains; also in northeastern in North America.
Platanthera dilatata  Geotagged,Platanthera dilatata,Summer,United States

Habitat

Wet meadows, forest openings, and stream banks from low elevations to the subalpine.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection.php?Genus=Platanthera&Species=dilatata
http://www.pnwflowers.com/flower/platanthera-dilatata-var-dilatata
Taxonomy
KingdomPlantae
DivisionAngiosperms
ClassMonocots
OrderAsparagales
FamilyOrchidaceae
GenusPlatanthera
SpeciesPlatanthera dilatata