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Platanthera bifolia
Platanthera bifolia is a wild European and Asian orchid that grows from underground tubers and is found in grasslands, woods, heaths and marshes rather than as a common garden plant. It needs cool, moist, slightly acidic conditions and does best left in its native habitat or with a mycorrhizal-friendly setup.
Platanthera bifolia, commonly known as the lesser butterfly-orchid, is a species of flowering plant in the family Orchidaceae, related to the genus Orchis, where it was previously included and also with the genus Habenaria. It is a Palaearctic species occurring from Ireland in the west, across Europe and Asia to Korea and Japan. It is also found in North Africa. The name Platanthera is derived from Greek, meaning 'broad anthers', while the species name, bifolia, means 'two leaves'.
The lesser butterfly-orchid occupies a wide range of habitats, being far more tolerant of acid conditions than the greater butterfly-orchid. They are found in grasslands, woodlands (especially beech woods in southern England), in hill pastures up to 400m, on heaths and moorland, and in tussocky marshy ground.
Platanthera unalascensis · Rein orchid · Green Platanthera · Northern green orchid · Hochstetter's Butterfly Orchid · Platanthera bakeriana · Platanthera bhutanica · White fringed orchid · Shortflowered bog orchid · Platanthera calceoliformis · Platanthera carnosilabris · Chapman's fringed orchid
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Platanthera bifolia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
