White Bog-Orchid, Scentbottle, Sierra bog orchid
Platanthera dilatata
Family: Orchidaceae
What it is like
Platanthera dilatata is a PERENNIAL growing to 0.5 m (1ft 8in). It is in flower from May to August. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Insects. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers wet soil.
Height (m): 0.5
Where it is found
Wet soils of swamps, bogs, banks of springs and streams. Wet meadows, tundra, marshes, fens, stream banks, shores, ditches, seeping slopes, roadsides from sea level to 3100 metres.
Western and eastern N. America - Alaska to California and New Mexico, Quebec to New York.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 3
Root - cooked. They taste like frozen potatoes.
Root: includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.
Medicine
Rating: 1
The root juice has been mixed with water and drunk in the treatment of gravel.
Lithontripic: Removes stones from the kidney, bladder etc.
Other
Rating:
Scented Plants: Plants noted for their scent
How it is grown
We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it should succeed outdoors in many parts of this country. 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. A note in says that the plant succeeds in a woodland garden (and implies it is hardy in the temperate zone) 207328.
Propagating it: 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. 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.
Best place to grow: Bog Garden;
Habit: Perennial
Hardiness: 0-0
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Wet
Things to keep in mind
The leaves are said to be poisonous.