RHH's photos with the keyword: xestesii

Growing in a marshy area in Kootenay National Park, this mix of Bog Orchids is one of our favorite subjects for photography when traveling through that area early in the summer. There are at least three different Bog Orchids here, growing with sedges and other bog plants. The white-flowered plants are one species of Bog Orchid, the green-flowered another species and a hybrid of the white and the green.

Platanthera x estesii, Estes Rein Orchis, is a natural hybrid of the white Platanthera dilatata and the green Platanthera stricta. We found this growing with one of the parents near White Dome Geyser in Yellowstone National Park. The spur (not visible), the color of the flowers and the lip all led to this identification, though the green-flowered Platantheras are notoriously difficult to tell apart.

This is almost certainly Estes Rein Orchis, Platanthera x estesii, a natural hybrid of Platanthera dilatata and Platanthera stricta, photographed along the Yellowhead Highway in Mount Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia, on a recent trip to Edmonton to see family. This plant was growing in every wet, boggy area along the highway, and though common is nevertheless beautiful with its masses of greenish-white flowers. nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2011/08/p...