RHH's photos with the keyword: nephrophylla

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.

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...

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...