Plant Story -- Scentbottle Orchid, Platanthera dilatata

This post is about a native orchid, the scentbottle, Plantanthera dilatata (orchid family, Orchidaceae).

scentbottle orchid, Plantanthera dilatata

Often, I walk by a native orchid without noticing. The standard image of an orchid is a plant with a showy red or purple flower three or four inches across. However many orchids have flowers smaller than a dime, pale green or white, including many North American native orchids. They are not as dramatic as the ones you see in hotel lobbies. You might say,"they don't look like orchids" but of course they are.

Cattleya orchid, native from Central to South America

The scentbottle orchid, also called the white bog-orchid (Platanthera dilatata, previously Habenaria dilatata) has flowers 1/2 inch across, the whole plant with a spike of white to green flowers standing maybe a foot tall. 

scentbottle orchid Platanthera dilatata

As the name scentbottle implies, this species has a pleasant scent. However, the other common name is white bog orchid, because they usually grow in moist or soggy ground. Thus, smelling them is not always fun, since you have to cross wet ground and then bend deeply to get your nose close to the flowers. It is a nice, spicy scent, though.

scent bottle orchids, Platanthera dilatata

The genus Platanthera has about 200 species, all across the Northern Hemisphere. Platanthera dilatata is one of 36 North American species and is found in the states and provinces of North America except for the South. It is endemic to the U.S. and Canada. Scentbottle is a plant of wet places: marshes, fens, stream banks, shores, ditches, and seeping slopes. But, its wide range takes it also to above treeline (over 12,000 feet elevation) as well as down to sea level. You can spot them along roadsides, in places that are moist enough.

scent bottle, Platanthera dilatata

The name Platanthera means "broad anthers" from the Greek, platys "broad" and anthera, "anther." The species epithet, dilatata, means expanded, referring to the broad base of the flower's lip. Both names were trying to distinguish Platantera species from each other and related orchids, but the classification has changed several times. Scentbottle remains in the genus Platanthera however.

The orchid family has more species than any other plant family, and for the most part orchids are readily recognized as orchids. Lobe-shaped leaves at the base of the flower stalk are typical. Scentbottle has just a few, rather small linear leaves that surround the flower stalk. Plants that are not in bloom are quite inconspicuous. 

The flowers have a petal on each side, a tongue-like lip and behind that a nectar-containing spur that is almost as long as the lip. They are white and you are likely to see them from mid-summer into early fall, depending on the location. Pollinators include night-flying noctuid moths, attracted by the scent. However skippers (Hesperiidae) and the owlet-moth (Mesogona olivata) visit the flowers by day, potentially pollinating. Furthermore, across its vast range, the flower shapes change, so probably additional pollinators will be observed.

Scentbottle orchids are not common, but they are not rare either. They are definitely a North America wild orchid to watch for. 

 

The Thompson (Nlakaʼpamux) of British Columbia reported using scentbottle in sweatbaths, treating sore joints and muscles. They also thought it lucky, for example washing guns with it for good luck in hunting, or as a personal wash to obtain wealth, for a young man to become "lucky, good looking and sweet smelling" or for a woman to find success in love. 

American native orchids do include some quite dramatic flowers, such as these showy lady's slippers (Cypripedium reginae) in the photo below. I was visiting in southern Michigan and my friend took me to see these lady's slippers. They were knee-high with big pink-and-white flowers, growing in a very boggy area. Some years, she said, there were hundreds. I saw dozens and was very impressed. Showy lady's slippers are endangered in most of their range (the northeastern U.S.).

showy lady's slippers (Cypripedium reginae) 

Today, I delight in small white-flowered orchids like scentbottle, ones I might be surprised by along popular hiking trails. I hope to discover a population where I can stand and watch for pollinators, without sinking slowly into the wet ground.

scentbottle, Platanthera dilatata

Comments and corrections welcome. 

References

Moerman,  D. 2003.  Native American Ethnobotany. BRIT Press, Fort Worth Texas Online version: link (Accessed 7/16/25)

North American Orchid Conservation Center. 2025. Platanthera dilatata (Pursh.) Lindl. x Beck  link (Accessed 7/16/25)

Owen, W. Showy Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium reginae) U.S. Forest Service. link (Accessed 7/16/25)

 

Robertson, L. 1999. Southern Rocky Mountain Wildflowers. Falcon Publishing. Missoula, Montana.

Sheviak, C. J. 2020. Platanthera Flora of North America link (Accessed 7/16/25)

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