About Platanthera flava (L.) Lindl.
Platanthera flava, commonly known as the southern rein orchid or palegreen orchid, is a species of pale-flowered orchid. It is native to eastern North America, ranging from Texas east to Florida, and north to Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia. Each inflorescence of Platanthera flava holds between 10 and 40 flowers. In the northern part of its range in Canada, this species grows especially on the shorelines of lakes and rivers, in the seasonally flooded zone. In Nova Scotia, it grows in wet meadows on seasonally flooded shorelines, alongside rare shoreline species like the Plymouth Gentian. In the southern part of its range, such as Texas, it is found in wet savannas and flatwoods. The northern shoreline habitats this species occupies are maintained by ice scour, while the southern flatwoods are maintained by recurring fire. Because of this, it appears that Platanthera flava depends on recurring natural disturbance to maintain the open, sunny conditions it needs.
