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Dinner-Plate Orchid
Platanthera orbiculata (pla-TAN-ther-uh or-bee-kul-AY-tuh)
Family: Orchidaceae
Native Herbaceous
The round-leafed orchid has greenish-white flowers with a long tapering lip that is not fringed. This wildflower can be found in wet woods, wet meadows, and bogs and is widely distributed in Canada and the United States. It requires consistently moist soil.
Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗
NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 43 attributes.
Companions & Conflicts
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Similar, less problematic
Calanthe 'Kozu Spice'
Full plant profile
Growing Conditions
Plant type
Herbaceous Perennial; Native Plant; Wildflower
Life cycle
Perennial
USDA zones
2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b
Light
Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
High Organic Matter
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Moist | Occasionally Wet
Available space
Less than 12 inches
NC region
Mountains; Piedmont
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Elliptical; Orbicular
Leaf feel
Glossy
Leaf size
> 6 inches long, > 6 inches wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Pair of large round basal leaves that rest flat on the ground
Flower color
Green; White
Flower value
Showy
Flower form
Raceme
Flower shape
Lipped; Tubular
Flower detail
up to 30 conspicuous, greenish-white flowers with a linear, elongated central petal and a long spur which extends out from behind the flower
Bloom time
Fall; Summer
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
Subarctic America to N. & E. U.S.A
Distribution
United States: Alaska, Idaho, Ill., Ind., Maine, Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Mont., Ohio, Oreg., Pa., N.H., N.J., N.Y., N.C., S. Dak., Tenn., Vt., Va., Wash., W.Va., Wis., Wyo. Canada: Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island.
Wildlife value
pollinated by noctuid moths
Food & Medicine
Uses (ethnobotany)
Leaves are used to treat skin diseases, scrofula, cuts, blisters.
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Riparian
Landscape theme
Native Garden; Water Garden
Garden tags
#riparian #orchid #rare #moist soil #mountains #hillsides #NC native #native garden #shade garden #white flowers #boggy sites #NC Native Pollinator Plant #native orchid #woodland #wildflower #wetland
Problems & Resistance
Propagation
Division; Seed
Planted at Hunnicutt
Nobody’s planted this one yet.