Scent Bottle Orchid, White Bog Orchid, White Rein-orchid
Platanthera dilatata var. dilatata
Synonyms: Habenaria dilatata var. dilatata, Limnorchis dilatata
The photo at right shows white bog orchid
as seen near Little Three Creeks Lake, Deschutes N.F.........July 15, 1992.
White bog orchid is a lovely orchid of moist places, with single, stout, hollow stems to 20-100 cm high. The fleshy sheathing leaves cover the lower part of the stem. The lower leaves range from 5-20 cm long and 1-3 cm wide, and may be even larger upwards on the glabrous stem. The lower leaves range from lanceolate to oblong-elliptic.
The flowers are white, showy, and numerous, forming a spike from 5-30 cm long at the apex of the stem. The raceme is commonly fairly dense with only the lower flowers commonly not overlapping. The flowers are about 15-20 mm long with a lanceolate lip from 6-8 mm long, which is dilated at the base. The spur is slightly shorter than to about as long as the lip. The upper sepal and 2 petals form a hood. The lower 2 sepals spread to each side of the flower.
White bog orchid is a plant of wet meadows, moist forest edges, and seeps.
White bog orchid is found over much of North America. It may be found from Alaska to Greenland and hence south to California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, South Dakota, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New York.
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