More Native Orchids from North America

Here are a few more of the approximately two hundred and fifty native orchids that grow in the United States, highlighted by Green Nature.com whose orchid photo album is divided between native and non-native species.

Rattlesnake Plantain - grow on forest floors across North America, including Canada and Alaska. Four different species have been identified. While the small white flowers on the thin stem often do not stand out in a crowded forest floor, its green striped leaves make it easily identifiable when the plant is not in bloom. Most flowers bloom during the summer season.

White Bog Orchid - (Platanthera dilatata) is one of many species of native fringed orchids growing in the United States. One or more of the Platanthera dilatata varieties can be found growing across the northern part of the United States. Along the West Coast, it grows, often abundantly in wet and sunny mountain meadows.

Pacific Coralroot - (Corallorhiza mertensiana) is one of five Corallorhiza species found on the West Coast. Those unfamiliar with the genus could easily pass a plant during a walk in the woods, the plant's natural habitat. From a distance it resembles little more than a thin plant stem covered with small blooms, but on close inspection the plant shows its pretty purplish flowers.

Spotless Coralroot - or Summer Coralroot (Corallorhiza maculata), is a very common Corallorhiza species, with a range extending throughout most of the woodland areas of the United States, including Alaska. The name maculata derives from the Latin, meaning spotted, although there are some spotless varieties.

Striped Coralroot - (Corallorhiza striata), or Hooded Coralroot, is a fairly widespread North American orchid species, growing at lower elevations on deciduous and evergreen forest floors.
A couple dozen striped flowers can grow on the plant's thin, purple, leafless stem.

Just further proof of the adaptability of wondrous orchids!