Penny Perspectives - Slender Bog Orchid

Day 234: Although many of the Park's Orchidaceae lack chlorophyll, such is not the case for Platanthera stricta, Slender Bog Orchid. In fact, even its flowers are green (occasionally tinged with red or purple), a factor which makes it difficult to observe against a background of leaves and mosses. It can be found in bogs and along streams where the overstory provides shade and cooler temperatures on warm afternoons. The back of the flower presents a sac-like, inflated spur which is almost as long as the lower "tongue." It is not uncommon in the Park, but will require a "Penny Perspective" to spot. This specimen was photographed at Longmire.