Goodyera repens (L.) R. Br. - Lesser Rattlesnake Plantain


 

|  back  | forward |

Goodyera repens - (image 1 of 6)

 

Taxonomy

Family: Orchidaceae

Habitat

Dry or wet woods, mostly under conifers.

Associates

 

Distribution

Circumboreal, in North America south to NY, MI, and MN, south in mountains to NC.

Morphology

Perennial herb to 20 cm; scape with 2-4(-5) bracts; leaf blades ovate or oblong, 1-3 cm, dark blue-green, in eastern North America usually white-reticulate, the midrib and veins typically green, but the lateral and cross-veins bordered with white or pale green; inflorescence loose, spirally secund, 3-6 cm long; galea 3-5.5 mm; lip 3-4 mm, deeply saccate, with prominent, slender, abruptly deflexed beak-tip with spreading margins; rostellar beak 0.2-0.6 mm, scarcely prolonged beyond the blunt anther.

Notes

Flowers July or August

Wetland indicator: FACU

Might be confused with G. tesselata which usually has larger leaves a more shallowly saccate lip.

References

Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.

The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY

 

USDA, NRCS. 2002.
The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov).
National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.


Home

 

 Michael Hough © 2018