Platanthera tescamnis
Encyclopedia
Platanthera tescamnis is a species of orchid
newly described in 2006. The plant is well-known but had been misidentified. It is native to the Great Basin
and Colorado Plateau
of the United States, where it grows in warmer, drier habitat than most related orchids.
It produces a slender, erect flowering stem which may exceed one meter-3 feet tall. There are several leaves around the base of the stem, lance-shaped to oval and measuring up to 29 centimeters long by 5 wide. The inflorescence
is a dense spike of many small yellow-green flowers.
Orchidaceae
The Orchidaceae, commonly referred to as the orchid family, is a morphologically diverse and widespread family of monocots in the order Asparagales. Along with the Asteraceae, it is one of the two largest families of flowering plants, with between 21,950 and 26,049 currently accepted species,...
newly described in 2006. The plant is well-known but had been misidentified. It is native to the Great Basin
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...
and Colorado Plateau
Colorado Plateau
The Colorado Plateau, also called the Colorado Plateau Province, is a physiographic region of the Intermontane Plateaus, roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States. The province covers an area of 337,000 km2 within western Colorado, northwestern New Mexico,...
of the United States, where it grows in warmer, drier habitat than most related orchids.
It produces a slender, erect flowering stem which may exceed one meter-3 feet tall. There are several leaves around the base of the stem, lance-shaped to oval and measuring up to 29 centimeters long by 5 wide. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a dense spike of many small yellow-green flowers.