Northwestern Twayblade (Neottia banksiana)

This tiny and rather insignificant native orchid has usually been identified, and sometimes still is identified, as Neottia or Listera caurina.  It is found in the northwest as far north as lower Alaska, as far south as California, and as far east as Wyoming.  It is said to be especially abundant in the Olympic Mountains of Washington, but is quite common throughout its range.

The plants we have seen have usually been from 10-20 cm tall, but is said to grow as tall as 30 cm.  It has two opposite heart-shaped leaves about halfway up the stem and has a good number - up to 25 - small green flowers that have two darker stripes on the sides of the lip and that are diagnostic.  We have found it blooming in open areas, especially along the trails.

Note: this orchid as well as the other species in the genus Listera were reclassified in 2009 as Neottia.

Fen Orchis (Liparis loeselii)

Liparis loeselii, the Fen Orchis or Loesel's Twayblade, is rather widespread in range.  It is found both in Europe and in North America and is reported to be common in the eastern areas of the United States and Canada.  It is rare, however, in the west, having been recently found for the first time in Alberta, where these photos were taken, and with no known locations in Washington, though it has been reported from the state.

It is a small species, not taller than 20 cm and often much shorter with two leaves at the base of the plant and a dozen or fewer flowers about 1 cm in size.  The flowers are pale yellowish-green and grow among sedges and other wetland plants which makes them even more difficult to find.  These were photographed growing in full sun in a very wet fen and were scattered individually over a fairly large area but only in one location in the fen which was very large.

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Lesser Rattlesnake Orchis (Goodyera repens)

The Lesser Rattlesnake Orchis, Goodyera repens does not grow in Washington.  In the northwest reaches the southern limit of its range in British Columbia.  Further east it grows as far south as the Appalachian Mountains, and is widespread, growing in Europe and Asia as well.

We see its cousin, the Giant Rattlesnake Orchis (giant only in comparison) on almost every hike, and we've seen this also on our numerous trips to the Canadian Rockies, but never in bloom.  This year we were late enough to see it in bloom for the first time at Mount Robson Provincial Park.

It has a tiny rosette of about half a dozen leaves, beautifully reticulated in the plants we saw, but often hidden in the moss in which it grows.  The flower spikes were 30 cm or less on the plants we saw and carried several dozen 2 cm crystalline white flowers, with a hairy exterior.

We thought it daintier and more attractive than its larger cousin, but that may only have been because we were seeing it for the first time.  We found it all along the trail at all elevations and always in relatively protected and shady locations, even in some cases in a layer of moss on the rocks.

Giant Rattlesnake Orchis (Goodyera oblongifolia)

This very common native orchid would probably be overlooked by most folk since it is neither very showy nor very large.  We have seen it on almost every hike in the Pacific Northwest and often in large numbers and at elevations that range from sea level to thousands of feet.  It ranges from Alaska to Maine and Newfoundland and as far south as Mexico.

The 3-8 leaves, which hug the ground, are 10-15 cm long and form a rosette at the base of the plant.  The flower spikes are as tall as 45 cm and  hold their flowers on one side of the spike, often in large numbers - as many as 35 flowers.  The individual flowers are less than 1 cm in size and are white and green in color.  There are two forms of the plant, a rather plain green-leaved form, and a very beautiful form with dark green leaves and striking white reticulations.

Broad-leaved Helleborine (Epipactis helleborine)

Epipactis helleborine, the Broad-leaved Helleborine is not really a native orchid but a European import that has naturalized all across the country.  We've also seen it in the dunes along the eastern Lake Michigan shore in the state of Michigan, and it is found in many other places around the country.

The plant can be as tall as 80 cm, though the plants we've seen have not been taller than 60 cm.  It is usually densely flowered with as many as 50 flowers each 3-4 cm in size.  Plants growing in shady conditions, however, may be much smaller with fewer, more widely spaced flowers.

The few leaves are pleated and the flowers are ordinarily green suffused with pink, but there are plain green, yellow and white forms as well, as well as a form with variegated leaves.  The plant blooms in August in our area.

The plant was first found in North America near Syracuse, New York, in 1878.  Since then it has spread to 31 states and six Canadian Provinces, according to the USDA.  We found these plants along a railway line suggesting one possible way in which it has spread.

The blog entry which describes our finding and photographing this orchid can be found at: http://ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2010/08/larrabee-state-park.html.

Chatterbox (Epipactis gigantea)

Epipactis gigantea is rightly named the Stream Orchid or Chatterbox.  In the one place we've found it here in Washington, we found it growing in one large clump right beside the lake, so close, in fact, that it was difficult to get pictures without getting wet feet.

It was also very windy that day and we discovered why this orchid is known as the Chatterbox.  It has a movable lip, not unlike a little mouth, that in the wind made photography very difficult.  The story of our finding this native orchid is at: http://ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/search/label/epipactis%20gigantea

The plant can be as tall as 100 cm, but the plants we found were only a little over 30 cm tall.  The leaves are pleated and the flowers are around 3 cm in size, very beautiful and very showy.  There can be up to twenty-five flowers per spike, though the most we've seen is ten.

The plant ranges from British Columbia south to Mexico and east to Montana, South Dakota and New Mexico.  It is very rare in our area, but can be relatively common in some places.  It is usually found in very wet areas and flowers during July and August.

Sparrow's-egg Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium passerinum)

Also known as Franklin's Lady's Slipper, Cypripedium passerinum, though not the showiest, is the daintiest and most delicate of our native Lady's Slippers, as the name "Sparrow's-egg" suggests.  It is also one of the rarer Slippers, found only in the north and there only in specific locations.  The USDA lists it as being found across Canada but only in Alaska and Montana in the United States.

The plants are taller than the Large Yellow Lady's Slipper or the Mountain Lady's Slipper, and the flowers relatively small in comparison.  The plants we have seen have been as much as 45-50 cm tall and the flowers about 10 cm tall with a lip that is quite large in proportion to the plant.

In the areas we have seen them they are always growing in and around scrubby trees, partially shaded from the full sun.  They have also been in areas that are quite moist, such as the shore of a lake or a riverbank.  We have found them growing mixed with Cypripedium parviflorum and Galearis rotundifolia.

There is said to be a dwarf form and we may have seen it, though it simply looks like a miniature version of the species. We think that it was the dwarf form because it was blooming when the larger forms were all finished.  There is as well as a form with a pinkish pouch, but we have not seen it.  Nor have we ever seen more than one flower on a plant, though it is suggested that they sometimes have two flowers.