This sweet-smelling perennial can be found in wet areas next to rivers, streams, bogs, or seep zones. These were found near the Azure and Clearwater Rivers in Wells Gray.

<a href=”https://kamloopstrails.net/wp-content/uploads/azure-037r.jpg”><img class=”aligncenter size-large wp-image-11066″ src=”https://kamloopstrails.net/wp-content/uploads/azure-037r-380×640.jpg” alt=”azure 037r” width=”380″ height=”640″ /></a>The slender green stalks grow to about 1m high. Waxy, white flowers with a greenish tinge face outward along the stem. The lower petal forms a “lip” which usually curves down. and the upper petal resembles a hood.

Native people used an extract from the plant to poison the bait for bears and coyotes. The sweet scent of the flowers can be smelled from a distance. Bog orchids are a variety of rein orchids,the largest group of orchids in British Columbia.

<a href=”https://kamloopstrails.net/wp-content/uploads/azure-036r-bog-orchidr.jpg”><img class=”aligncenter size-large wp-image-11067″ src=”https://kamloopstrails.net/wp-content/uploads/azure-036r-bog-orchidr-391×640.jpg” alt=”azure 036r bog orchidr” width=”391″ height=”640″ /></a>