Dwarf Rattlesnake Plantain

(Goodyera repens)

Dwarf Rattlesnake Plantain (Goodyera repens [L.] R. Br. ex Ait. f.)

Identification: Flowers green-white, small. Flowers arranged in a one-sided terminal spike. Stem woolly, with a few scale-like bracts. Leaves ovate-elongate, located near the base of the plant. Leaf dark green, reticulated and checkered with a pattern of white lines. Plant 5 to 10 inches in height.

Distribution: Newfoundland to the Yukon and in the northern United States. Extends southward in the Rocky and Appalachian mountains to Arizona and North Carolina.

Habitat: Dwarf Rattlesnake Plantain is found in wet woods.

Flowering period:  July to August.

Similar Species: Species of the genus Goodyera are easily identifieds by the dark green, basal leaves checkered by a pattern of white lines. The separation of species is more difficult and completely accurate identification depends on floral structure details best left to technical books. Downy Rattlesnake Plantain has the flowers arranged in a tight cylindrical spike. The flowers of Dwarf Rattlesnake Plantain are mostly confined to one side of the spike. The flowers of Checkered Rattlesnake Plantain are in an open spiral.