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Platanthera ephemerantha
Also called Ephemeral Rein Orchid, White Piperia, White Flowered Piperia, White Lip Rein Orchid, Whiteflower Rein Orchid
A wild North American terrestrial orchid from the Platanthera genus, found in coniferous forests from Alaska to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is rarely grown in gardens, and cultivation is difficult because it depends on local soil fungi and a winter dormancy period.
Platanthera ephemerantha is a species of orchid known by the common names white-flower rein orchid, and slender white piperia, and white-flowered piperia. It is native to western North America from Alaska to the San Francisco Bay Area, where it grows in coniferous forests and other habitat in coastal and inland mountain ranges within approximately 150 kilometers of the coast. It grows erect to about half a meter tall, emerging from a bulbous caudex. The basal leaves are up to 18 centimeters long by 3 centimeters wide. Leaves higher on the stem are much reduced. The upper part of the stem is a spikelike inflorescence of up to 100 small flowers, mostly arranged along one side of the stem. The fragrant, honey-scented flowers are whiter than those of other Platanthera, but sometimes green-tinged or green-veined, or green with white margins.
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 ephemerantha 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.
