User:Taryn57/Platanthera huronensis

Platanthera huronensis, the Huron green orchid,[1] is a is a species of orchid native to the United States and Canada.

Description
Platanthera huronensis is typically 20-70 cm tall with a distinct whitish-green coloration and 50-100 flowers that produce a sweet pungent odor [4][5]. Distinguishing characteristics include that the spur is approximately the same length as the lip, the column is taller than it is wide, and the anther sacs are parallel and separated at the apex. It flowers in July-August and is pollinated by several species of bees, moths, and butterflies.[5]

Distribution and habitat
It has a discontinuous range, the eastern range including eastern Canada from eastern Manitoba to Labrador, plus New England and the Great Lakes states. The western range extends along the Rocky Mountains from New Mexico to Alberta, as well as the coastal ranges of Washington, British Columbia and southern Alaska (including the Aleutians) [2][3][4]. In New Mexico it can be found in the counties of Rio Arriba, San Miguel, and Taos [5].

It grows in moist mixed conifer and aspen forests at elevations of 2400-3100 m. It can be found in hillside seeps, wet meadows, and marshy areas such as along streams, rivers, and drainage ditches, often in colonies of up to several hundred individuals [4][5].

Taxonomy
Platanthera huronensis is in the subgenus Limnorchis as part of the Hyperborea complex, which is taxonomically challenged due to interspecific hybridization, polyploidy, and hybrid speciation. This orchid was first distinguished from the rest of the Hyperborea complex based on a “pronounced basal dilation of [the flower’s] lips” and was named Platanthera huronensis (Nuttall) Lindley in 1818 [10]. P. huronensis has been classified as a species, variety, and synonym throughout its history, but is currently recognized as a species based on evidence that it is tetraploid, morphologically distinguishable, and relatively reproductively isolated. It is likely a hybrid of two other closely related species, P. aquilonis and P. dilatata. [5][7][9][10]

Mycorrhizae
Other orchids in the Platanthera genus, Platanthera bifolia and Platanthera chlorantha, were found to have dominant mycorrhizal fungi identified as members of the Ceratobasidiaceae[6]. Non-dominant fungi were identified as members of the Tulasnellaceae and Sebacinales[6]. Ceratorhiza fungi has also been found to encourage the development of another orchid in this genus, Platanthera praeclara[8].

References[edit]

 * 1) ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Platanthera huronensis". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
 * 2) ^ Flora of North America v 26 p 558, Platanthera huronensis
 * 3) ^ Biota of North America Program, county distribution map
 * 4) Argue, C. L. (2012). Limnorchis Group. The Pollination Biology of North American Orchids: Volume 1: North of Florida and Mexico, 87-107.
 * 5) Coleman, R. A. (2002). The Wild Orchids of Arizona and New Mexico. Cornell University Press. pp. 147–183.
 * 6) Esposito, F.; Jacquemyn, H.; Waud, M.; Tyteca, D. (2016). "Mycorrhizal fungal diversity and community composition in two closely related Platanthera (Orchidaceae) species". PLoS One. 11 (10).
 * 7) Sears, C. J. (2008). Morphological discrimination of Platanthera aquilonis, P. huronensis, and P. dilatata (Orchidaceae) herbarium specimens. Rhodora, 110(944), 389-405.
 * 8) Sharma, J.; Zettler, L.W.; Van Sambeek, J.W.; Ellersieck, M.R.; Starbuck, C.J. (2003). "Symbiotic seed germination and mycorrhizae of federally threatened Platanthera praeclara (Orchidaceae)". The American midland naturalist. 149 (1): 104–120.
 * 9) Wallace, L. E. (2003). Molecular evidence for allopolyploid speciation and recurrent origins in Platanthera huronensis (Orchidaceae). International Journal of Plant Sciences, 164(6), 907-916.
 * 10) Wettewa, E., Bailey, N., & Wallace, L. E. (2020). Comparative Analysis of Genetic and Morphological Variation within the Platanthera hyperborea Complex (Orchidaceae). Systematic Botany, 45(4), 767-778.