Platanthera purpurascens

(Rydberg) Sheviak & W. F. Jennings

N. Amer. Native Orchid J. 3: 445. 1997.

Endemic
Basionym: Limnorchis purpurascens Rydberg Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 28: 269. 1901
Synonyms: Platanthera hyperborea var. purpurascens (Rydberg) Luer
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 26. Treatment on page 560. Mentioned on page 554, 558.

Plants 24–80 cm. Leaves few–several, abruptly diverging or sometimes ascending, scattered along stem; blade oblong to ovate or lanceolate, 5.5–16 (–28) × 1–4.5 cm. Spikes very lax to dense, flowers sometimes irregularly grouped in fascicles. Flowers resupinate, not showy, green to yellowish green, often suffused with blue or lip sometimes with red; lateral sepals spreading to reflexed; petals ovate to lance-falcate, margins entire; lip descending to somewhat reflexed or projecting, lanceolate to ovate, sometimes with prominent suborbiculate basal dilation, without basal thickening, 4–8 × 1.5–3 mm; spur strongly clavate to scrotiform, 2–3 mm, apex obtuse; rostellum lobes strongly diverging, very small, rounded, obscure; pollinaria straight; pollinia remaining enclosed in anther sacs; viscidia orbiculate to oblong; ovary rather slender to stout, mostly 5–9 mm. 2n = 42 [63].


Phenology: Flowering Jul–Aug.
Habitat: Stream banks, shores, ditches, fens, seeping slopes, roadsides, commonly in thickets, open woods
Elevation: 2500–3300 m

Distribution

V26 1141-distribution-map.jpg

Ariz., Calif., Colo., N.Mex., Wyo.

Discussion

Flowers of Platanthera purpurascens are strongly semen scented, and their musty scent is markedly different than the sweet and spicy scents of other fragrant species.

In some areas this species hybridizes with Platanthera dilatata var. albiflora, producing sweetly fragant plants with lanceolate green lips. At the southern edge of its range, however, it often occurs with similar plants in the absence of another putative parent. The identity of these plants is uncertain. Their rather generalized morphology might mask polyphyletic origins.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
... more about "Platanthera purpurascens"
self-pollination +
Charles J. Sheviak +
(Rydberg) Sheviak & W. F. Jennings +
suborbiculate +
Limnorchis purpurascens +
indehiscent +
not +  and articulate +
conduplicate +  and plicate +
16 cm160 mm <br />0.16 m <br /> (28 cm280 mm <br />0.28 m <br />) +
5.5 cm55 mm <br />0.055 m <br /> (16 cm160 mm <br />0.16 m <br />) +
oblong +  and ovate or lanceolate +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (4.5 cm45 mm <br />0.045 m <br />) +
Ariz. +, Calif. +, Colo. +, N.Mex. +  and Wyo. +
2500–3300 m +
3-merous +, sessile +  and pedicellate +
suffused +, green +  and yellowish green +
ellipsoid;cylindric +
Stream banks, shores, ditches, fens, seeping slopes, roadsides, commonly in thickets, open woods +
lateral +  and terminal +
spreading +  and reflexed +
petiolate +, sessile +  and simple +
ascending;diverging +
Few (?) +  and Several (?) +
reduced +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
projecting +, reflexed +  and descending +
lanceolate +  and ovate +
larger +
0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br /> (0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br />) +
entire +  and fringed +
differing in form and color +
slender +  and stout +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (0.9 cm9 mm <br />0.009 m <br />) +
1-many-flowered +  and cymose +
pendent +  and erect +
ovate;lance-falcate +
Flowering Jul–Aug. +
N. Amer. Native Orchid J. +
aerial +  and subterranean +
lancefusiform +
slender +
minute +
free +, distinct +, adnate +  and connate +
foliaceous +
not +  and alike +
strongly clavate +  and scrotiform +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br />) +
leafless +  and leafy +
pendent +  and erect +
proliferous +
thickened +  and stout +
concave +  and convex +
Platanthera hyperborea var. purpurascens +
Platanthera purpurascens +
Platanthera +
species +
orbiculate +  and oblong +
aquatic +, lithophytic +, terrestrial +  and epiphytic +
saprophytic +, photosynthetic +  and mycotrophic +
erect to somewhat +