White Bog Orchid, White Rein Orchid, Plantanthera dilatata (Pursh) Lindl. Ex beck var. . Thick erect stems, to 30 inches tall. Leaves gradual, sheathing get smaller as they rise up the stem. Flowers white to greenish, tinged. Fragrant (clove and vanilla like fragrance to flowers) waxy, small flowers. Up to 30 flowers in tightly packed terminal spike. Capsule like fruit. Found in bogs, wetland fringes, fens, marshes, water edges, forest clearings, mid to high elevations.
Native American Medicine: Micmac used plant root juice as a urinary aid, to treat gravel.
Food: A few tribes may have eaten the tuber like roots. Given the plant is also used as a poison, please be advised. Eating this plant is risky business until more information is available.
Veterinarian/Wildlife: Shushap and other tribes sprinkled plant on bait for wolves, coyotes, bears.