Name: |
- Goodyera, in honor of John Goodyer (1592-1664), English botanist
from Petersfield, Hamphire
- repens, from the Latin, "creeping", a reference to the creeping
habit of the buried stems.
- Common Name, from
- Other common names include Northern Rattlesnake Plantain, Lesser Rattlesnake
Plantain, Creeping Rattlesnake Plantain, Downy Rattlesnake Plantain,
White Plantain, Squirrel-ear, Creeping Ladies Tresses (UK), Knärot
(Swe), Knerot (Nor), Knærod (Dan), Yövilkka
(Fin), Netzblatt (Ger), Mogairlean Ealaidheach (Gaelic),
Tajê¿a jednostronna (Pol)
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Taxonomy: |
- Kingdom Plantae
- Division Magnoliophyta, the Angiosperms (flowering plants)
- Class Liliopsida, the Monocotyledons
- Subclass Liliidae, the Lilies
- Order Orchidales, the Orchids
- Family Orchidaceae, the Orchids
- Genus Goodyera, the Rattlesnake Plantain
Orchids. About 25 species worldwide, 4 in North America,
all of which occur in the North Woods and 2, perhaps
3, in the BWCA.
- Taxonomic Serial Number: 43595
- Also known as Peramium ophiodes, Goodyera ophoides,
Goodyera repens var. ophiodes.
- First described by Robert Brown in 1813
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Description: |
- A native, perennial orchid, 3"-14" tall.
- Leaves deciduous, mottled green and white, ½"-1"
long.
- Rhizomes thick, fiberous.
- Flowers white to pale green and only 4mm-5 mm long;
on a one-sided raceme, 1"-3½" long.
- Fruit a capsule, not quite ½" long.
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Identification: |
- Distinguished from other northwoods herbs by the shape and pattern of
the leaves in the basal rosette.
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Distribution: |
- Alaska to Newfoundland, south to British Columbia, New Mexico, South Dakota,
Tennessee, and North Carolina.
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Habitat: |
- Coniferous swamps and bogs, cool, shady, moist coniferous forests with
a mossy understory. Also dry to mesic upland coniferous and mixed forest.
Dry, cold, mossy woods, especially under conifers
- Soils cool, acidic, and nutrient poor.
- Occurs in full or partial shade.
- A late successional or climax species, normally found in stands 95 to
350 years old.
- Appears very sensitive to disturbance.
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Fire: |
- Appears to be a fire-sensitive species. Killed by fire; rhizomes apparently
do not survive burning.
- Prefers the shade of older forests and does not readily reinvade areas
that have been opened up by fire.
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Associates: |
- Trees: Balsam Fir (Abies
balsamea), Red Maple, Acer
rubrum), Paper Birch (Betula
papyrifera), White Spruce (Picea
glauca), Black Spruce (Picea
mariana), Jack Pine (Pinus
banksiana), Red Pine (Pinus
resinosa), White Pine (Pinus
strobus), Large Leaf Aspen (Populus
grandidentata), Quaking Aspen (Populus
tremuloides)
- Shrubs: Bunchberry (Cornus
canadensis), Twinflower (Linneae
borealis), Prickly Rose (Rosa
acicularis), Mountain Cranberry (Vaccinium
vitis-idaea)
- Herbs: Wild Sarsaparilla (Aralia
nudicaulis), Large Leaf Aster (Aster
macrophyllus), Bluejoint Reedgrass (Calamogrostis
canadensis), Blue Bead Lily (Clintonia
borealis), Gold Thread (Coptis trifolia),
Moccasin Flower (Cypripedium acaule), Canada Mayflower (Maianthemum
canadense), Starflower (Trientalis
borealis)
- Ground Covers: Feathermoss (Hyloconium
splendens)
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History: |
- European settlers used the leaves to soothe mucous membranes, and to treat tuberculosis of the lymph glands and eye diseases.
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Uses: |
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Reproduction: |
- Reproduces sexually by seed and vegetatively by rhizomes.
- Flowers 14 July to 6 August in the North Country.
- Seeds require a mycorrhizal endophytic fungus, (Ceratobasidium cornigerum)
or (Rhizoctonia goodyearae-repentis), to develop in the wild. Mature
plants seem to be independent of the mycorrhizal relationship.
- Pollinated by Bumblebees (Bombus spp.)
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Propagation: |
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Cultivation: |
- Hardy to USDA Zone 2 (average minimum annual temperature -50ºF)
- Dwarf Rattlesnake Plantain is a protected species in Minnesota and may
not be collected in the wild without a permit from the DNR.
- Available by mail order from specialty suppliers.
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Links: |
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Comments: |
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Last Updated on
3 July, 2004
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