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BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary


Platanthera ephemerantha
white-lip rein orchid


 
Scientific Name: Platanthera ephemerantha R.M. Bateman
Scientific Name Synonyms: Piperia candida
English Name: white-lip rein orchid
 
Classification / Taxonomy
Scientific Name - Concept Reference: Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Classification Level: Species
Species Group: Vascular Plant
Species Code: PLATEPH
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
Plantae Anthophyta Monocotyledoneae Orchidales Orchidaceae
   
Conservation Status / Legal Designation
Global Status: G3? (May 2012)
Provincial Status: S3 (Apr 2019)
BC List: Blue
Provincial FRPA list:   
Provincial Wildlife Act:
COSEWIC Status:
SARA Schedule:
General Status Canada: 2 - May be at risk (2010)
   
Ecology & Life History
General Description:
Technical Description:
Similar Species:
Habitats:
(Type / Subtype / Dependence)
Forest / Conifer Forest - Dry / Facultative - frequent use
Forest / Garry Oak Woodland / Facultative - frequent use
Global Habitat Comments: This species is found in chaparral, as well as conifer and mixed evergreen forests, occasionally on serpentine soils, within 150 kilometers of the coast, at elevations ranging from 0 to 1,500 meters (Ackerman and Morgan, 2020).
Provincial Phenology:
(1st half of month/
2nd half of month)
Elevation (m) (min / max): Provincial: 
Known Pests:
Pollen Vector:
Pollinator:
Dispersal:
   
 
Provincial Inventory
Inventory Priority:
Ownership of occurrences (Known locations):
Inventory Need:
 
Economic Attributes
 
Distribution
Endemic: N
Disjunct, more common elsewhere:
Peripheral, major distribution elsewhere:
 
Authors / Contributors
Global Information Author:
Last Updated:
Provincial Information Author:
Last Updated:
Last Literature Search:
   
References and Related Literature
Douglas, G.W., D. Meidinger, and J. Penny. 2002. Rare Native Vascular Plants of British Columbia, 2nd ed. B.C. Conserv. Data Centre, Terrestrial Inf. Branch, Victoria. 358pp.
Douglas, G.W., D. Meidinger, and J. Pojar, eds. 2001b. Illustrated Flora of British Columbia, Vol. 7, Monocotyledons (Orchidaceae through Zosteraceae). B.C. Minist. Sustainable Resour. Manage., and B.C. Minist. For. Victoria, BC. 379pp.
 

Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.

Suggested Citation:

B.C. Conservation Data Centre. Species Summary: Platanthera ephemerantha. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 6, 2026).