E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Platanthera dilatata (Pursh) Lindl. ex Beck var. dilatata
fragrant white rein orchid (scentbottle)
Orchidaceae (Orchid family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Frank Lomer  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #28558)

E-Flora BC Static Map
Distribution of Platanthera dilatata var. dilatata
Click here to view our interactive map and legend
Details about map content are available here
Click on the map dots to view record details.

Species Information

Click on the image below to view an expanded illustration for this species.



General:
Perennial herb from spindle-shaped stem-bases, with a few fibrous roots; stems 15-100 cm tall, leafy.
Leaves:
Basal and stem leaves oblong to linear or lanceolate, 10-30 cm long.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a terminal, 5- to 30-flowered spike, the flowers white, very fragrant, unstalked; sepals 3-9 mm long, broadly lanceolate, 3(4)-veined, the upper sepal egg-shaped, erect, converging with the petals and forming a hood; petals 1- to 2-veined, slightly shorter and wider than sepals; lip linear-lanceolate to lanceolate, 5-10 mm long, strongly round-dilated at base; spur 5-10 mm long, slenderly cylindric to slightly club-shaped, slightly curved; column about 2 mm long.
Fruits:
Capsules, ascending to erect.
Notes:
Three varieties occur in BC:

1. Spurs up to two-thirds the length of lips.................... var. albiflora (Cham.) Ledeb.

1. Spurs equaling the lips or slightly longer.

2. Spurs 1.5-2 times longer than lips, very slender, strongly curved..................... var. leucostachys (Lindl.) Luer

2. Spurs about the length of the lips, not very slender, not strongly curved....................... var. dilatata

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Wet meadows, seepage slopes, bogs, stream and lake margins and open forests in the montane to alpine zones; common throughout BC, except var. albiflora, rare in S BC; var. albiflora - N to AK, E to NF and S to CO, UT, ID and OR; var. dilatata - N to AK, YT and NT, E to ME, MA, NY, IN, IL, MN, SD, NM, UT, NV and OR; var. leucostachys - N to AK and S to WY, AZ and CA; Greenland.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Platanthera dilatata var. dilatata

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Minimum

Average

Maximum

Elevation (metres) 60 1348 1970
Slope Gradient (%) 0 10 53
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]
24 160 355
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
3 5 7
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
C
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:
19
Modal BEC Zone Class
ESSF
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: AT(2), BAFA(1), CWH(1), ESSF(5), ICH(4), MH(1), MS(1), SBS(1)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Habenaria dilatata (Pursh) Hook.
Limnorchis dilatata (Pursh) Rydb.
Platanthera dilatata var. angustifolia Hook.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

General References