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Useful Temperate Plants

Platanthera dilatata

(Pursh) Lindl.

Orchidaceae

+ Synonyms

Habenaria borealis albiflora Cham.

Habenaria dilatata (Pursh) Hook.

Habenaria flagellans S.Watson

Habenaria graminifolia (Rydb.) J.K.Henry

Habenaria leptoceratitis J.K.Henry

Habenaria leucostachys (Lindl.) S.Watson

Habenaria pedicellata S.Watson

Limnorchis dilatata (Pursh) Rydb.

Limnorchis foliosa Rydb.

Limnorchis fragrans Rydb.

Limnorchis graminifolia Rydb.

Limnorchis leptoceratitis Rydb.

Limnorchis leucostachys (Lindl.) Rydb.

Orchis agastachys Fisch. ex Lindl.

Orchis dilatata Pursh

Piperia dilatata (Pursh) Szlach. & Rutk.

Platanthera cylindrica Bach.Pyl.

Platanthera graminea Lindl.

Platanthera hyperborea dilatata (Pursh) Rchb.f.

Platanthera hyperborea graminea Rchb.f.

Platanthera hyperborea leucostachys (Lindl.) Kraenzl.

Platanthera leucostachys Lindl.

Platanthera lindleyi Steud.

Tulotis albiflora Raf.

Common Name: White Bog-Orchid

No Image.

General Information

Platanthera dilatata is a herbaceous, perennial orchid growing from a fleshy rootstock with stems that can be 11 - 130cm or more tall[
270
Title
Flora of N. America
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine.

Known Hazards

The leaves are considered to be poisonous by some Native American tribes[
257
Title
Native American Ethnobotany
Publication
 
Author
Moerman. D.
Publisher
Timber Press. Oregon.
Year
1998
ISBN
0-88192-453-9
Description
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
].

Botanical References

235
Title
An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada
Publication
 
Author
Britton. N. L. Brown. A.
Publisher
Dover Publications. New York.
Year
1970
ISBN
0-486-22642-5
Description
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.
,
270
Title
Flora of N. America
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.

Range

Western and eastern N. America - Alaska to California, Colorado and New Mexico; Manitoba to Newfoundland, south to Missouri and New York.

Habitat

Wet soils of swamps, bogs, banks of springs and streams[
212
Title
A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers
Publication
 
Author
Craighead. J., Craighead. F. and Davis. R.
Publisher
The Riverside Press
Year
1963
ISBN
63-7093
Description
Excellent little pocket guide to the area, covering 590 species and often giving details of their uses.
]. Wet meadows, tundra, marshes, fens, stream banks, shores, ditches, seeping slopes, roadsides; at elevations from sea level to 3,100 metres[
270
Title
Flora of N. America
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
].

Properties

Edibility Rating *  *  *
Medicinal Rating *  *
HabitPerennial
Height0.50 m
PollinatorsInsects
Cultivation StatusWild

Cultivation Details


The N. American members of this genus are generally best grown in a sand-peat bed (60% silica sand, 40% sphagnum peat with a mulch of pine needles)) or in pots of pure, living sphagnum moss[
230
Title
Hardy Orchids. Orchids for the Garden and Frost-free Greenhouse.
Publication
 
Author
Cribb. P. & Bailes. C.
Publisher
Christopher Helm. London.
Year
1989
ISBN
0 7470 0416 1
Description
An excellent book looking at the orchids that can be grown outdoors in temperate climates and giving lots of information on how to grow them. Very lttle information on their uses.
].
Orchids are, in general, shallow-rooting plants of well-drained low-fertility soils. Even those species that grow in bogs tend to be in the drier areas of the bog with plenty of water 15cm or more below soil level. Their symbiotic relationship with a fungus in the soil allows them to obtain sufficient nutrients and be able to compete successfully with other plants. They are very sensitive to the addition of fertilizers or fungicides since these can harm the symbiotic fungus and thus kill the orchid[
230
Title
Hardy Orchids. Orchids for the Garden and Frost-free Greenhouse.
Publication
 
Author
Cribb. P. & Bailes. C.
Publisher
Christopher Helm. London.
Year
1989
ISBN
0 7470 0416 1
Description
An excellent book looking at the orchids that can be grown outdoors in temperate climates and giving lots of information on how to grow them. Very lttle information on their uses.
].

Edible Uses

Root - cooked[
212
Title
A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers
Publication
 
Author
Craighead. J., Craighead. F. and Davis. R.
Publisher
The Riverside Press
Year
1963
ISBN
63-7093
Description
Excellent little pocket guide to the area, covering 590 species and often giving details of their uses.
]. They taste like frozen potatoes[
212
Title
A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers
Publication
 
Author
Craighead. J., Craighead. F. and Davis. R.
Publisher
The Riverside Press
Year
1963
ISBN
63-7093
Description
Excellent little pocket guide to the area, covering 590 species and often giving details of their uses.
].

Medicinal

The root juice has been mixed with water and drunk in the treatment of gravel[
257
Title
Native American Ethnobotany
Publication
 
Author
Moerman. D.
Publisher
Timber Press. Oregon.
Year
1998
ISBN
0-88192-453-9
Description
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
].

The following notes are for Platanthere leucostachys, now generally considered to be a subspecies of Platanthera dilatata (as Platanthere dilatata leucostachys (Lindl.) Luer)
A decoction of the plant is used as a wash to treat rheumatic pain[
257
Title
Native American Ethnobotany
Publication
 
Author
Moerman. D.
Publisher
Timber Press. Oregon.
Year
1998
ISBN
0-88192-453-9
Description
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
].
The plant is used in a sweat bath to treat rheumatic pains and various other joint and muscle aches[
257
Title
Native American Ethnobotany
Publication
 
Author
Moerman. D.
Publisher
Timber Press. Oregon.
Year
1998
ISBN
0-88192-453-9
Description
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - surface sow, preferably as soon as it is ripe, in the greenhouse and do not allow the compost to dry out. The seed of this species is extremely simple, it has a minute embryo surrounded by a single layer of protective cells. It contains very little food reserves and depends upon a symbiotic relationship with a species of soil-dwelling fungus. The fungal hyphae invade the seed and enter the cells of the embryo. The orchid soon begins to digest the fungal tissue and this acts as a food supply for the plant until it is able to obtain nutrients from decaying material in the soil[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
]. It is best to use some of the soil that is growing around established plants in order to introduce the fungus, or to sow the seed around a plant of the same species and allow the seedlings to grow on until they are large enough to move.
Division in autumn. The plant is very intolerant of root disturbance, any moving or dividing should be attempted in the autumn, keep a large ball of soil around the plant[
1
Title
RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956
Publication
 
Author
F. Chittendon.
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Year
1951
ISBN
-
Description
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
].
Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2024-03-29. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Platanthera+dilatata>

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