rein orchid

rein orchid, (genus Platanthera), genus of about 100 species of terrestrial orchids (family Orchidaceae) found throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere. Rein orchids grow in grasslands, bogs, forests, and sand dunes in subtropical and warm temperate areas.

Rein orchids are perennial plants and have tuberous or fleshy roots. A bud forms on one root and grows slowly for a year. The old plant then dies, and the bud becomes a mature plant in its second season. The leaves are fleshy and usually sheathing. The flowers are borne in a terminal spike and characteristically have a spur at the base of the flower lip. In many species the lip is fringed.

Some members of the closely related genus Habenaria, as well as those of the small genus Piperia, are also known as rein orchids