Platanthera obtusata

{{Short description|Species of orchid}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Platanthera obtusata - Flickr 003.jpg

| genus = Platanthera

| species = obtusata

| authority = (Banks ex Pursh) Lindl.

| synonyms_ref =[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/synonomy.do?name_id=157299 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, Platanthera obtusata subsp. obtusata]

| synonyms = *Orchis obtusata Banks ex Pursh

• Habenaria obtusata (Banks ex Pursh) Richardson
• Lysiella obtusata (Banks ex Pursh) Rydb.
• Habenaria obtusata var. collectanea Fernald
• Platanthera obtusata var. collectanea (Fernald) W.J.Schrenk
• Platanthera obtusata f. collectanea (Fernald) P.M.Br.
• Platanthera obtusata f. foliosa P.M.Br.

}}

Platanthera obtusata, common name blunt-leaved orchid or small northern bog orchid, is a small species of orchid in the genus Platanthera. It widespread across much of the colder regions of the Northern Hemisphere, though rare in some parts of its range.{{eFloras|1|242101847|Platanthera obtusata |first=Charles J. |last=Sheviak |volume=26}}[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/synonomy.do?name_id=157295 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, Platanthera obtusata] Two subspecies are recognized:

• Platanthera obtusata subsp. obtusata - Alaska (including the Aleutians), much of Canada (all 13 provinces and territories), south along the Rocky Mountains to northern New Mexico; the Great Lakes States, the Adirondacks and northern New England; St. Pierre & Miquelon.{{BONAP|ref |genus=Platanthera |species=obtusata}}{{PLANTS |symbol=PLOB |taxon=Platanthera obtusata}}
• Platanthera obtusata subsp. oligantha (Turcz.) Hultén - Norway, Sweden, Finland,{{cite journal |title=Pikkulehdokki, Suomelle uusi kämmekkälaji: The first record of Platanthera obtusata ssp. oligantha from Finland |url=https://researchportal.helsinki.fi/en/publications/pikkulehdokki-suomelle-uusi-k%C3%A4mmekk%C3%A4laji-the-first-record-of-plat |journal=Lutukka |date=December 2009 |volume=2009 25 |issue=4 |pages=122–124 |last1=Mäkelä |first1=Annina }} Siberia and the Russian Far East

It is pollinated by several species of mosquito{{cite journal |last1=J. Richard Gorham |title=Orchid Pollination by Aedes Mosquitoes in Alaska |journal=The American Midland Naturalist |volume=95 |issue=1 |pages=208–210 |date=Jan 1976 |doi=10.2307/2424249|jstor=2424249 }}{{Cite journal|last1=Peach|first1=Daniel A. H.|last2=Gries|first2=Gerhard|title=Mosquito phytophagy – sources exploited, ecological function, and evolutionary transition to haematophagy|journal=Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata|language=en|doi=10.1111/eea.12852|issn=1570-7458|year=2019|volume=168|issue=2|pages=120–136|doi-access=free}} as well as by other insects.{{cite web |title=Year of Pollination: Mosquitoes as Pollinators |url=https://awkwardbotany.com/2015/07/08/year-of-pollination-mosquitoes-as-pollinators |website=Awkward botany |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150708193339/https://awkwardbotany.com/2015/07/08/year-of-pollination-mosquitoes-as-pollinators/ |archivedate=Jul 8, 2015 |date=Jul 8, 2015}}