The colors below indicate the kind of documentation available for this species
in the California counties where it occurs.
White-flowered Bog Orchid Platanthera leucostachys (Orchidaceae)
What is that robust spike of white flowers out in the middle of the bog? Its preference for water-logged habitats makes this orchid less accessible and all the more enticing. The gentle curve of the petals brings to mind a Georgia O'Keefe painting. In orchids, the lower petal in a flower is called the lip. In this species it curves forward and also has a dilated cylindrical extension at its base called a spur. The two upper petals fuse with the uppermost sepal to form a hood which arches over the column. The column or central part of the flower is formed by the fusion of stamens, style, and stigma.
DISTRIBUTION: Wet open places and meadows throughout the Calif. Floristic Province (except the Great Central Valley) and Great Basin Province; < 3400 m.
