Thirty-second and Last Orchid of the Season and Others

We had not expected to find any more native orchids, at least not any new species, when we were out hiking August 7th.  We did, however, find the thirty-second orchid of the season and a new species for us in Washington.  Though we had seen this species a number of times previously, when I checked my records I discovered that this was the first time we saw it in the state.  The orchid is the best of our Platantheras, Platanthera orbiculata, the Pad-leaved Orchis, known both for its large, shiny plate-like leaves which are held close to the ground and for its intricate greenish-white flowers.  The plant can be up to 75 cm tall, but these were smaller, nearer 30 cm.  They were almost finished flowering, but were unmistakable and were growing where one would expect to see them, in an open woodland.  Because the flowers were not that fresh I've included a couple of other pictures from another location.

Along with the Platanthera we found quite a number of Goodyera oblongifolia, the Giant Rattlesnake Orchis, still blooming. These in fact were everywhere, and though they are so common that we usually do not even bother to photograph them, it was nice to see them when hardly anything else, orchids or wildflowers, was blooming.

Platanthera orbiculata

We have eight species of Platanthera in our area (there are a couple more in Alaska).  Many of them are rather unimpressive, but this species is an exception.  There can be no argument that Platanthera orbiculata, the Pad-leaved Orchis is impressive and the most beautiful of all our Platantheras.  Even the plant is impressive, with huge 20-25 cm shiny plate-like leaves lying close to the ground, a flower spike as tall as 75 cm, and intricate 5 cm greenish-white flowers with a long spur.

We never see a lot of this species, usually only scattered plants growing in their favorite habitat, dry open woodlands with a lot of moss and few other competing plants.  It grows in Washington, but we have seen it most often in the Canadian Rockies where we saw it this past summer.  We were hiking a part of the Berg Lake trail and found it in three different locations, blooming just as the Lady's Slippers were finishing their bloom season and earlier than the Lesser Rattlesnake Orchis.

July 10

(Canadian Rockies)

Pad-leaved Orchis and Lesser Rattlesnake Orchis along the Berg Lake Trail

We were in Edmonton August 6-10 to see our son-in-law, daughter and two grandchildren there.  We left early in the morning on the 11th and spent the day in Mount Robson Provincial Park hiking the Berg Lake trail as far as Whitehorn, about seven miles (23 kilometers).

We love this area for its spectacular scenery, but it is also an orchidist's paradise, and though we were later than usual, we did find a few in bloom, including one rather common orchid we had not seen in bloom before, as well as many old friends finished blooming and gone to seed.

Those we saw finished and gone to seed were:
Amerorchis rotundifolia (Small Round-leaved Orchis)
Calypso bulbosa var. americana (Eastern Fairy Slipper)
Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens (Large Yellow Lady's Slipper)
Cypripedium passerinum (Sparrow's-egg Lady's Slipper)
Listera borealis (Northern Twayblade)
Listera cordata var. cordata (Heart-leaved Twayblade)
Platanthera aquilonis (Northern Green Bog Orchis)
Platanthera dilatata (Bog Candle or White Bog Orchis)
Platanthera huronensis (Green Bog Orchis) - a few of these were still in bloom
Platanthera obtusata var. obtusata (Blunt-leaved Rein Orchis
Platanthera stricta (Slender Bog Orchis)

There were a couple we had seen before that we did not see this time:
Corallorhiza maculata var. maculata (Spotted Coralroot)
Corallorhiza trifida (Early Coralroot)
Coeloglossum viride var. virescens (Long-bracted Green Orchis)

We also saw Goodyera oblongifolia, the Giant Rattlesnake Orchis just starting to bloom, but I did not get any pictures as it is common throughout our area.  The two we did see in bloom were the Lesser Rattlesnake Orchis, Goodyera repens, and the Pad-leaved Orchis, Platanthera orbiculata.

The latter was blooming as single plants scattered in mossy, shady areas throughout the woods to the east of Kinney Lake.  It is without doubt the most beautiful of the Platantheras in our area, both for its large and striking flowers and its beautiful, plate-shaped leaves.

The Lesser Rattlesnake Orchis we had seen before, but never in bloom, since we are usually in the area in June and July and this blooms in August.  Its crystalline white flowers were a delight.  It was everywhere and did not seem to be very fussy about location.

Pad-leaved Orchis (Platanthera orbiculata)

Platanthera orbiculata is a very striking species, very different from the other plants in the genus.  It ranges in a great arc from Washington, Idaho and Montana, through Canada and Alaska and down into the Appalachian Mountains as far south as North Carolina and Georgia.

Like P. obtusata, it is usually found in woodlands rather than in wet and marshy areas. and is easily recognizable not only by its location, but also by its two large pad-like leaves and its flowers which are whitish-green and look like a dragonfly in flight.

The plants are 60-57 cm tall and the individual flowers, usually 10-15 of them, approximately 5 cm in size, among the largest flowers in the genus.  It also blooms a bit later than the other Platantheras.  We've found it only when the other species were nearly finished flowering in early August.