Platanthera hyperborea - Northern Green Orchid
Phylum: Magnoliophyta - Class: Liliopsida - Order: Orchidales - Family: Orchidaceae
There is considerable confusion surrounding this orchid, which is known to occur in Iceland and Greenland as well as having been found in North America, although recorded under a various names over the years.
The Northern Green Orchid (also referred to as the Northern Green Bog Orchid or the Green-flowered Bog Orchid) grows in wet, shaded areas in meadows, along stream banks and in wet flushes. Its favoured habitats are often flooded in autumn or spring or completely submerged by water or snow during the winter.
The main flowering time is August and September.
The specimen shown on this page was photographed in Rocky Mountain National Park in late August on the banks of the Colorado River.
Etymology
The genus name Platanthera comes from Greek and means 'broad or wide anther', referring to the wide separation of the bases of the two pollinia in the Lesser Butterfly Orchid, which is the type species of the genus. (Not all Platanthera species display this charcter, however.) The specific epithet hyperborea means 'extreme north'.
Please Help Us: If you have found this information interesting and useful, please consider helping to keep First Nature online by making a small donation towards the web hosting and internet costs.
Any donations over and above the essential running costs will help support the conservation work of Plantlife, the Rivers Trust and charitable botanic gardens - as do author royalties and publisher proceeds from books by Pat and Sue.