RHH's photos with the keyword: native orchid

This is one of several orchids we found blooming in Yellowstone National Park. Extremely fragrant it is also very common and we saw it nearly everywhere we visited in the park. Its botanical name is Platanthera dilatata var. dilatata, and this example was photographed along the west entrance road near the Madison River on a boggy hillside, the kind of area it prefers.

This was photographed on Whidbey Island near Deception Pass in the San Juan Islands. The Coralroots are saprophytes, leafless and without chlorophyll, relying on a symbiotic relation with a fungus for their sustenance. Because of this relationship they are impossible to cultivate.

This orchid is not really a native, but a European import that has naturalized itself all across the country. It was first reported in Canada in the late 1800'sand since then has spread quickly. We found it growing along a railway line, an indication, perhaps, of how it has spread. Further pictures and a description of this lovely "weed" can be found at: nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2010/09/b... .