Platanthera elliptica J.J.Sm. 1914

Drawing by © Emmanuel Saya and The Gallery Orchids of Papua New Guinea Website

Common Name The Elliptic Platanthera

Flower Size .4" [1 cm]

Found in New Guinea in more or less swampy, sometimes fire-induced, heath-like vegetation at elevations around 2400 to 2650 meters as a small to medium sized cold growing terrestrial with an erect stem without true leaves, a few ovate-elliptic leaves arise from the rootstock after the stem has flowered, that blooms in the summer on an erect, provided with 5 to 0 shewathing peduncle scales, evenly spaced and clasping the stem, with somewhat spreading, acuminate to acute free apices, rachis to 4" [10 cm] long, narrowly cylindrical, densely amny flowered inflorescence with lanceolate, as long as the ovary floral bracts and carrying small, glabrous, greenish flowers.

Kew now considers this species as a synonym of Platanthera arfakensis, but I have left them separate for now.

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

* Bull. Jard. Bot. Buitenzorg, sér. 2, 13: 53 J J Smith 1914

The Orchids New Guinea Website

New Zealand Journal of Botany, 58(3), 236–244. S.Nowak, Efimov, Szlach. & Kolan. 2020

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