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Platanthera obtusata - Blunt-leaved Orchid

Phylum: Magnoliophyta - Class: Liliopsida - Order: Orchidales - Family: Orchidaceae

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The scientific name of this orchid obtusata refers to the one (occasionally two) blunt-tipped leaves right at the base of the plant. There are also a variable amount of sharper-tipped leaves (or bracts) along the length of the stem.

Growing to a maximum height of around 30cm, the overall impression of this plant is that it is greenish-cream in colour, with the flowers having a distinct green tinge about them.

The range of Green Bog Orchid is from Alaska extending to British Columbia and Newfoundland. Further south it can be found in Colorado, Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Utah and Oregon. It has also been found in Washington State and New York State areas although some colonies are so small that their viability is questionable.

The Green Bog Orchid only grows in wet 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.

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 obtusata means 'blunt'.


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