LESSER BUTTERFLY-ORCHID
Platanthera bifolia
(Formerly: Habenaria bifolia)
Orchid Family [Orchidaceae] 
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Orchid Family [Orchidaceae]
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status
flower
inner
morph
petals
type
type
longstem
stem
smell
scent
| 1st June 2004, Ireland. | Photo: © Phil And Ann Farrer |
| Between 15 to 55cm high with less than six small stem leaves and two shiny-green, pointed basal leaves, which are shorter but broader particularly on the hill-form of the plant. |
| 1st June 2004, Ireland. | Photo: © Phil And Ann Farrer |
About 25 well-separated white flowers which are tinged yellow-green in places. The flowers have two triangular white wongs and a short greenish parallel tongue/lip, which look vaguely like a Small-white Butterfly, hence the moniker. |
| 7th June 2009, Lot Valley, France. | Photo: © Hester Coley |
| The hood is triangular and loose comprising an upper sepal and tow short white petals either side. |
| 7th June 2009, Lot Valley, France. | Photo: © Hester Coley |
The opening into the spur behind the hood is obstructed by the pollinia, which present the yellow pollen to visiting insects. It is night-scented but the odorous compounds differ from those of the Greater Butterfly-Orchid. The pollinating insects are thus mainly moths such as the Pine Moth, Small Elephant Hawk-Moth and Elephant Hawk-Moth. |
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Easily mistaken for : Greater Butterfly-Orchid (Platanthera chlorantha) but that has the two pollinia further apart and splayed out sideways to each other rather than parallel. Hybridizes with : Greater Butterfly-Orchid (Platanthera chlorantha) to produce Platanthera × hybrida.
Un-like Greater Butterfly-Orchid it will also grow in very acidic soils. It is found in grasslands woods (especially of |
 Platanthera
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bifolia
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⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ |
Orchidaceae
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 Platanthera (Butterfly-Orchids) |
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Orchid Family [Orchidaceae]
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BSBI maps