Thursday, September 15, 2011

white rein orchid, or Sierra bog orchid

 
Found in a fen, not a bog, incidentally, in Yosemite NP.
Asked a park ranger there a geeky question,
turns out we know each other,
and he had done a good amount of botany, etc.,
so during the course of our conversation,
he pointed this pup out to me.


Closer...


Platanthera dilatata var. leucostachys
used to be called Platanthera leucostachys.
It's on Yosemite's plant species list.

Pretty non-showy, small thing, until you get close.

According to Calflora, it is a perennial, herbaceous monocot.
Elevation range is 0 to 11,000 feet. Now, that's flexible.

Anyhow, cool plant, and such an interesting flower shape.

And I just love the word fen. =)

bb

2 comments:

  1. Love, love our native orchids. Had a fellow come visit us when he found out I knew where the endangered Yadon's piperia is located. His goal is to photograph every native CA orchid and he only has 9 species left. Bogs and fens are so different - wonder why the misnomer?

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  2. =) Yes, my awareness of native orchids and chlorophyll-free plants is pretty new. SO interesting. Nice, re: orchid guy. What a positive hobby! =)

    I'm the last person to distinguish between a bog and a fen (tho' above-mentioned ranger explained it to me), but I expect that species is found in BOTH, so when found in a bog, was named after it? Though, honestly, I don't really know. =)

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Cool people write inside rectangles....