Goodyera oblongifolia    "Giant rattlesnake plantain"   

This orchid has a rosette of shiny evergreen leaves with a light stripe down the rib of the leaves. It sometimes seems to carpet the floor of the forest under evergreens. In the Yellowstone area, I seem to find them under relatively dense Douglas fir. They spread with laterals off the rhizome. According to Case (1987) Goodyera species also hybridize with each other

Locations: Canyon area: Large colony along the south rim trail not far from Artist's Point, behind trees in the shade. UTM GPS: 12T 0541339 4952045. Mammoth: South of the Upper Terrace Road, can be reached from the Parking lot. On the Solfatara Trail that begins south of Obsidian Cliff and north of Grizzly Lake Trail.  

Blooming: mid-to-late August into September

Sniff test: no detectable fragrance

  • _CFM3460.DNG
  • Goodyera oblongifolia, Rattlesnake plantain, Canyon area , Yellowstone
  • 50mm Macro A lens, Pentax K-3
  • 5/29/15 11:09:45 AM MDT
  • YNP > 15_0529YNP

  • _CFM3457.DNG
  • Goodyera oblongifolia, Rattlesnake plantain, Canyon rim trail from Artist's Point, Yellowstone
  • 5/29/15 11:05:38 AM
  • 50 mm Macro A lens, Pentax K-3
  • YNP > 15_0529YNP
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Native Orchids of Yellowstone by Colleen F Moore is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License