White Adder's Mouth

(Malaxis brachypoda)

White Adder's Mouth (Malaxis brachypoda [Gray] Fern.)

Identification: Flowers small, green-white without a rear spur. Lower petal ovate at the base and pointed at the apex. Threadlike lateral petals absent. Top of flower with two thin lateral petals and an elongate top petal that hangs downward over the mouth of the flower. Flowers arranged in an elongate, terminal spike. Plant with a single broad leaf arising from near the base of the plant. Plant 4 to 6 inches in height.

Distribution: Manitoba in the west, eastward to Quebec, and southward to the northern United States. Extends to Tennessee in the mountains.

Habitat: White Adder's Mouth is found in woodland and bogs.

Flowering period: June to August.

Similar Species: Green Adder's Mouth has two lateral, thread like petals. The lower petal is broad and tilobed, not wide at the base and narrowing to a point. The single leaf of Green Adder's Mouth arises near the middle of the stem, not the base.