''Platanthera flava'', the palegreen orchid, is a species of pale-flowered

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

. It is native to eastern

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, from

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

east to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, north to

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

and

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. ''Platanthera flava'' has from 10 to 40 flowers in an

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

. In the north of its range, in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, this species is particularly associated with shorelines of lakes and rivers, in the seasonally flooded zone. In

, it occurs in

wet meadow A wet meadow is a type of wetland with soils that are Solubility, saturated for part or all of the growing season which prevents the growth of trees and brush. Debate exists whether a wet meadow is a type of marsh or a completely separate type of ...

s on seasonally flooded shorelines with rare shoreline species such as Plymouth Gentian. In the south, such as in

, it is found in wet savannas and

flatwoods Flatwoods, pineywoods, pine savannas and longleaf pine–wiregrass ecosystem are terms that refer to an ecological community in the southeastern coastal plain of North America. Flatwoods are an ecosystem maintained by wildfire or prescribed fir ...

.Liggio, J. and Liggio, A.O. 1999. Wild Orchids of Texas. University of Texas Press, Austin. p.139-141. The shoreline habitats of the north are maintained by ice scour, while in the south, the flatwoods are maintained by recurring fire. Hence, it appears that this species depends upon recurring natural disturbance to maintain open sunny conditions.

Varieties

Two varieties are recognized: *''Platanthera flava'' var. ''flava'' - southern part of species range *''Platanthera flava'' var. ''herbiola'' (R. Brown) Luer - northern part of species range

References

External links

* * * Maine Natural Areas Program fact shee

Platanthera, flava Orchids of Canada Orchids of the United States Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{orchidoideae-stub