Heart-leaved Twayblade (Neottia cordata)

The Heart-leaved Twayblade is a very small plant with tiny, but intricate flowers.  With a bit of imagination the flowers look like a cloud of tiny green or red insects hovering around the flower spike and above the two opposite heart-shaped leaves.

The plant is supposed to grow as tall as 40 cm, but the plants we have seen have all been tiny, less than 15 cm tall.  The flowers, said to number up to forty, have been 15 or fewer on the plants we've seen and are only about 1 cm in size.

There are two varieties of this plant, variety cordata, more common in the Eastern United States and Canada and variety nephrophylla, more common in the west.  I have not yet figured out the difference between the two, except that the first variety is very tiny.

The species and especially variety cordata is very widespread being found not only throughout the USA and Canada but also in Europe and Asia.  Variety nephrophylla, however, is found only in the western USA and Canada, from the Rockies west to California and north to Alaska.

Both varieties come in red and green forms which further complicates the situation.  One cannot tell the variety simply from the colors of the flowers.  Both are very attractive, however, though I think the red flowered form is the more appealing.

In the pictures, in both cases, the first green and red flowered flowered plants were photographed in the North Cascades and the second in the Canadian Rockies in Berg Lake Provincial Park.  In the second location the red-flowered plants were also photographed growing among the green.

The first picture is of an plant with flowers intermediate in color, perhaps the offspring of the two different color forms.  This plant was photographed in the North Cascades in Washington State along the Heliotrope Ridge Trail.

Broad-lipped Twayblade (Neottia convallarioides)

Often miscalled the Broad-leaved Twayblade rather than the Broad-lipped Twayblade, this rather unremarkable plant is quite rare (we know of only one location in Washington).  It is at first glance similar to the very common Northwestern Twayblade, Neottia banksiana, but lacks the black markings on the lip and also has a distinct notch at the end of the lip which the Northwestern Twayblade does not always have.  The leaves, too, are more round than the leaves of the Northwestern Twayblade and in my experience the plants are smaller than that species.  It is said to grow to 30 cm tall, but the plants we've seen have been less than 15 cm.  The flowers are 1.5 cm long and are a pale green color.  It seems to prefer damper areas than the other Twayblades and where we found it was growing near a seep or small stream.  Like the other Twayblades its name has changed from Listera to Neottia.

Northern Twayblade (Neottia borealis)

All the Neottias are small plants with small flowers, but if it is possible to have a favorite among them, this would be mine.  Perhaps that is only because it brings back memories of several fabulous backpacking trips in Mount Robson Provincial Park in British Columbia, but it is nonetheless the species in this genus that stands out in my mind.

The plant is only 10-20 cm tall and the 5-15 flowers, fewer in number than Neottia banksiana, are only about a cm long.  The plant has two and occasionally three leaves opposite each other about midway up the stem and flowers early in the summer, though we have found it well into August at higher elevations, usually as single plants and often growing with Neottia cordata.

The plant, which used to be known as Listera borealis, is found from Alaska all across Canada and in the northwestern United States as far south as Utah and Colorado.  It is reported to be rare and local, but we have found it in fairly large numbers in the Mount Robson area, usually growing in damp shaded areas at the edge of woodlands.  It is very rare in Washington.

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.