RHH's photos with the keyword: listera

Here's a native orchid we found Monday while out doing wildflower photography. Usually we find this in the mountains later in the season, but there is one location at sea level where we always find a few plants of the Heart-leaved Twayblade, Listera cordata var. nephrophylla, now known as Neottia cordata and the same species that can be found in Europe. It has a plain green form and this reddish form and it is a tiny thing, in this case only six inches tall (15 cm) with 1 cm flowers.

This is the fourth native orchid we've photographed this season. We had a horrible time photographing them, though. It was breezy and they were tucked in between two fallen logs.Usually we find them higher in the mountains, but there is one location we know where it grows at a very low elevation and always flowers there early in the season, but only a few plants (six this season). This is the reddish form of the species. There is also a plain green form. The species is tiny, the whole plant with its flower spike six to eight inches or less (15 cm) and the flowers less than half an inch (1 cm). Its current botanical name is Neottia cordata var. nephrophylla.

Our state, the state of Washington, is believed to have 39 species and varieties of native orchids, some very rare. At the beginning of the summer there were two of them I had not seen, though not all of the others within the state. This rather unremarkable plant was one of the two I had not seen. It is the Broad-lipped Twayblade, Listera or Neottia convallarioides. I finally was able to see it in the area of Mount Rainier last week after making two trips to find it. I had visited the area in previous years but had been too early and had not recognized it. The plants were six to eight inches tall and the flowers about three quarters of an inch. The genus name Neottia is its most recent classification, and the species name comes from the supposed resemblance of the leaves to those of the Convallaria plant (Lily-of-the-Valley). The plant is rather rare, though its range extends from Alaska to Newfoundland and from California to Michigan. There is now only one native orchid I have not seen and we are going to look for it tomorrow along the Columbia River. We have several reported locations and though we have looked there previously, have better information this time. It is a natural hybrid, Spiranthes diluvialis, one of the Ladies'-tresses. It blooms at this time of the year and if we find it will have seen all of the state native orchids over a period of about 10 years. nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2010/11/broad-lipped-twayblade-listera.html

I'm posting only one picture today for lack of time. This is one of the first orchids we saw while hiking the Berg Lake Trail in Mount Robson Provincial Park. It is a tiny plant with tinier flowers and would probably go unnoticed unless a person was actually looking for orchids. We also saw a purple form which I'll post at a later date.

Berg Lake Trail, Mount Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia.

Photographed on the Berg Lake Trail, Mount Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia. We saw both the green-flowered and the red-flowered forms of this species. The green flowered form (fma. viridens) is shown below.

This species is the most attractive of the three I've posted, though also very small. The nearly translucent flowers are considerably larger than some of the others. This plant was photographed in the Canadian Rockies in Berg Lake Provincial Park. More information and pictures can be found here: nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2010/11/n...

This species is very tiny, often only a few inches tall and has tiny flowers. This plant was photographed on the Heliotrope Ridge Trail in the North Cascades. More information and pictures can be found on my blog at: nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2010/11/h...

The three pictures I've posted are of three orchids native to the Pacific Northwest and in some case to other parts of the country and even Eurasia. They are all small and rather insignificant, but intriguing when viewed closely. This species was photographed in the North Cascades in Washington. More information about it can be found here: nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2010/11/n...

Another of our native orchids, but one so small and with such tiny flowers that it is seldom noticed. The plant with its flower spikes is around six inches tall, though often smaller, and the individual flowers are a half an inch or less. The plant can be found along many of the trails in our area, and often seems to be everywhere. We found these but a few plants on the grounds of the Au Sable Institute near Coupeville on Whidbey Island. It blooms all summer at different elevations. The flowers range in color from green to a dark reddish-purple. These flowers are intermediate in color. The plant is named for the two opposite heart-shaped leaves that grow midway up the stem and which are more noticeable than the flowers. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/06/whidbey-isl... nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2012/05/c...

This is a close up of the native orchid I posted a few days ago. Listera banksiana or caurina, the Northwestern Twayblade, has flowers around a half inch (1.5 cm) in size. The species is common here in the northwest, but because is small with small green flowers it often passes unnoticed. This example was photographed at Lake Elizabeth. nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2010/11/n...

Listera banksiana, the Northwestern Twayblade, is another of our rather nondescript native orchids. The plant is six inches to a foot tall and the flowers are around half an inch. It is quite common in the northwest, though this is a rare three-leaved form. Almost always it has two opposite leaves and I have not even seen a notice of a three-leaved form. This, too, was photographed at Lake Elizabeth in the North Cascades. nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2012/08/t...

The Western Heart-leaved Twayblade, Listera cordata var. nephrophylla, is one of our smallest native orchids. It is found in two forms, the ordinary green form and a reddish form, fma. rubescens, often found growing together as they are here. The flowers are around half an inch in size, so small as to go unnoticed by most, though the plant is quite common. The plant has two heart-shaped, opposite leaves half-way up the stem which can be seen in some of the pictures at the link below. This example was photographed at Lake Elizabeth in the North Cascades. nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2012/08/t...

This is another native orchid we found near Greenwater when hiking there last summer. Also known as Listera caurina, the Northwestern Twayblade is very common in our area and we seldom go on summer hikes in the mountains without seeing it. It's a small plant, usually a foot tall or less (30 cm) with rather insignificant half-inch (1 cm) flowers. The plant has two opposite leaves about half-way up the stem.