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Denseflower rein orchid

Platanthera elongata

Also called Dense Flowered Rein Orchid, Tall Rein Orchid, Chaparral Orchid, Wood Rein Orchid

Denseflower rein orchid
Photo: Anthony Valois and the National Park Service, Public domain

Denseflower rein orchid is a wild North American terrestrial orchid that grows from a bulb-like base and is found in mountain forests and scrub, not commonly grown in gardens. It is hard to cultivate because it needs specific woodland conditions and a cool winter rest.

Family
Orchidaceae (Orchid family)
Grows as
Bulb, Orchid
Light
Part shade
Water
Keep soil consistently moist during the growing season and drier during dormancy.
Soil
Humus-rich, well-drained woodland soil or a loose leaf-mould mix.
Temperature
10–24 °C; tolerates winter cold when dormant.
How easy
Hard
Native range
SW. Canada to Mexico (NW. Baja California)
Climate
temperate

About

Platanthera elongata is a species of orchid known by the common names denseflower rein orchid, chaparral orchid and wood rein-orchid. It is native to western North America from British Columbia and Montana to southern California, where it grows in mountain forests and scrub habitat. This orchid grows erect to about 1.3 meters in maximum height from a bulbous caudex, its stem becoming narrow toward the tip. The basal leaves are up to 30 centimeters long by 6.5 wide. Leaves higher on the stem are much reduced. The upper part of the stem is a spikelike inflorescence of many small green flowers which are sometimes densely arranged. They are sometimes faintly and variably fragrant in the evenings. The spur on each flower may be up to 1.5 centimeters long.

Other Platanthera plants

Platanthera unalascensis · Rein orchid · Green Platanthera · Northern green orchid · Hochstetter's Butterfly Orchid · Platanthera bakeriana · Platanthera bhutanica · Lesser butterfly-orchid · White fringed orchid · Shortflowered bog orchid · Platanthera calceoliformis · Platanthera carnosilabris

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Platanthera elongata 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.

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