Platanthera bifolia, SE: Nattviol, DE: Zweiblättrige Waldhyazinthe,
NL: Welriekende nachtorchis, UK: Lesser butterfly-orchid

Scientific name:		Platanthera bifolia (L.) L.C.Rich.
Swedish name:		Nattviol
German name:		Zweiblättrige Waldhyazinthe
Nederlandse naam:		Welriekende nachtorchis
English name:		Lesser butterfly-orchid
Family:		Orchidaceae, Orchid family, Orkidéer

Life form:		Tuberous perennial herb
Stems:		Height up to 30cm, stem arising from two broad basal leaves
Leaves:		Two basal oval leaves at the base of aspike-like inflorescence
Flowers:		Many flowerd spike with cream, whitish flowers, sweetly scented in the evening; each flower bears a very long slender spur at the rear; each flower contains two pollinaria situated on each side of the spur entrance; each pollinium contains hundreds of massulae
Flowering Period:		June-July
Fruits:		The fruit is commonly pollen limited; microscopically tiny seed
Habitat:		Meadows, open woodlands
Distribution:		From Skåne to Jamtland

Derivation of the botanical name: Platanthera, Greek platos wide; anthera stamens. bifolia, bi- two; folium leaf, the name means two-bladed, referring to the two basal leaves. The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy. The standard author abbreviation L.C.Rich. is used to indicate Louis Claude Richard (1754 – 1821), a French botanist and botanical illustrator.