Twenty-eighth Orchid of the Season and Others

All five Piperias (now Platantheras) can be found in Olympic National Park.  We found four of the five when we were there in July, but this one, the fourth we found, was very nearly finished flowering.  In fact, we found only one spike that still had any flowers on it and they were well on their way to oblivion.  The species looks like Platanthera unalascensis, the Alaskan Piperia, but has white instead of green flowers.  The inflorescences grow to 60 cm with numerous 3-4 mm flowers.  At flowering the leaves are usually withered away or starting to wither, a characteristic of all the Platanthera/Piperias.  Known until recently as Piperia candida, it is now classified as Platanthera ephemerantha.

Platanthera ephemerantha

Along with Platanthera ephemerantha candida we found more Platanthera elongata, with its small, faintly fragrant, green flowers and long downward-curved spur.  Like the other Piperias, it seems to be one of the few orchids unaffected by the hot dry summer we've had, though, as is characteristic, the leaves have usually withered away.  These plants tend to grow on exposed hillsides, trailsides, and dry mossy banks, as well as in dry forests.  Platanthera elongata, is the last of the Platanthera/Piperias to bloom, though their blooming seasons overlap and it is possible to see them all in bloom at the same time.  On this trip it was also the most common of the Piperias and seemed to be on every roadside bank.

Platanthera elongata

Note: I've included some older pictures of Platanthera ephemerantha for lack of anything recently taken.

Platanthera ephemerantha

Platanthera ephemerantha, formerly Piperia candida, is another of the five Platnathera/Piperia species we have in the Pacific Northwest.  It closely resembles Platanthera unalascensis except for the fact that its flowers are white instead of green and therefore also more showy.  Both species have small flowers and a much shorter spur or nectary than the more showy Piperias, but this species is not unattractive.  The plant can be quite tall, over 60 cm, but the flowers are only 3-4 mm, more or less densely packed on the flower spike.  Very often the leaves are withering or have disappeared by the time the plant blooms.  It seems to prefer open dry woodlands and roadside banks.

Seventeenth Week of the Native Orchid Season - Platantheras, Neottias, Goodyeras and Epipactis

July 28 - August 3

This week the big excursion was to Olympic National Park where we found twelve different orchid species and varieties.  There, too, as around the rest of western Washington, it was very dry and most of the orchids were early.  We visited four different areas in the northern part of the park, two areas that we had not seen before, and in all of them found native orchid species.  The orchids we found were:

Epipactis gigantea, the Stream Orchid or Chatterbox

(note the picture of the double flower)

Goodyera oblongifolia, the Giant Rattlesnake Orchis

Neottia banksiana, the Northwestern Twayblade

Platanthera ephemerantha (Piperia candida), the Slender White Piperia

Platanthera (Piperia) elegans ssp. elegans, the Elegant Piperia

(there is a Crab Spider on one of the flower spikes)

Platanthera (Piperia) elongata, the Long-spurred Piperia

Platanthera (Piperia) unalascensis fma. olympica, the dwarf form of the Alaskan Piperia

(this form is found only on Hurricane Ridge in the Olympics)

Platanthera dilatata var. dilatata, the Tall White Northern Bog Orchis

(has a spur about the same length as the lip)

Platanthera dilatata var. leucostachys, the Sierra Rein Orchid

(has a spur that is longer than the lip)

Platanthera stricta, the Slender Bog Orchis

Platanthera x estesii, Estes Hybrid Rein Orchis

(this is a natural hybrid of the two previous species)

Later in the week we had a Washington Native Orchid Society field trip to Goose Rock and to Washington Park where we saw three Piperias and a lot of Goodyeras.  I had seen these previously by way of scouting for the field trip, but had helped make the arrangements for the field trip and so went to see them again, something I never mind doing.  The orchids we found were:

Goodyera oblongifolia, the Giant Rattlesnake Orchis

Platanthera (Piperia) elegans ssp. elegans, the Elegant Piperia

Platanthera (Piperia) elongata, the Long-spurred Piperia

Platanthera (Piperia) transversa, the Flat-spurred Piperia