''Platanthera nivea'', commonly called the snowy orchid, is an

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. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

species of native to the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern po ...

. Its range is almost entirely restricted to the southeastern

Coastal Plain A coastal plain is flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and a piedmont area. Some of the largest coastal plains are in Alaska and the southeastern United States. The Gulf Co ...

, with a few notable inland populations such as in

Coffee County, Tennessee Coffee County is a county located in the central part of the state of Tennessee, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 57,889. Its county seat is Manchester. Coffee County is part of the Tullahoma-Manchester ...

. Within this range, it is found in wet

savannas A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

and

bogs A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

. ''Platanthera nivea'' has a highly irregular flowering pattern, with whole populations not flowering for a number of years. Populations of this orchid have declined considerably over the 20th century due to

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

.Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States
/ref>

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15436713

nivea Nivea (, stylized as NIVEA) is a German personal care brand that specializes in skin and body care. It is owned by the Hamburg-based company Beiersdorf Global AG. The company was founded on 28 March 1882, by Paul Carl Beiersdorf. In 1890, it ...

Orchids of the United States