Platanthera aquilonis, the Northern Green Bog Orchis, is another of the hard-to-identify green Platantheras. Indeed, because the Platantheras seem to interbreed quite freely it is sometimes impossible to identify them with certainly. The distinguishing characteristics of this species are a yellowish lip, a spur that is shorter than the lip and curved well forward, and anther sacs that are low in the flower and form a kind of triangular shape. The plant can be quite small to 60 cm tall and has numerous flowers, as many as fifty, more or less crowded on the flower spike. The leaves are near the ground and up to 20 cm. We do not see this species as frequently as some of the other green Platantheras and seldom in Washington, but have found it in a number of different locations in the Canadian Rockies in British Columbia and Alberta.
July 8
(Canadian Rockies)
July 10
(Canadian Rockies)