Platanthera obtusata, the Blunt-leaved Rein Orchis, is very common in the Canadian Rockies and further north and we've seen it often, so often that we do not usually stop to photograph it. It was, however, one of only two orchids native to Washington that we had not seen in the state.
We'd been given several sets of GPS coordinates by a friend and finally found the species in the Okanogan Highlands in north-central Washington in two locations. We had to do some scrambling and bushwacking to see it, but found it at peak of bloom and were delighted to add it to our list.
In both cases it was growing on the edge of a bog, about twenty plants at each location. We did not stay long for photos since the mosquitoes were thick and biting, but got enough photos to record the find, beautiful in the photos but in fact rather small and uninspiring and easily missed.
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