Goodyera oblongifolia

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Goodyera oblongifolia
Goodyera oblongifolia 1.jpg
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Cranichideae
Genus: Goodyera
Species:
G. oblongifolia
Binomial name
Goodyera oblongifolia
Synonyms
List
    • Epipactis decipiens
    • Goodyera decipiens
    • Goodyera menziesii
    • Orchiodes decipiens
    • Peramium decipiens
    • Peramium menziesii
    • Spiranthes decipiens
    • Tussaca oblongifolia

Goodyera oblongifolia is a species of orchid known by the common names western rattlesnake plantain and giant rattlesnake plantain. It is native to much of North America, particularly in the mountains of the western United States and Canada, from Alaska to northern Mexico, as well as in the Great Lakes region, Maine, Quebec and the Canadian Maritime Provinces. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Goodyera oblongifolia is most commonly found in mountain forests, often in the understory of conifers. This orchid forms a patch of broad lance-shaped to oval-shaped leaves at the ground, each 4 to 9 centimeters long. The leaf is dark green and in this species the midrib is streaked with white. There is often also white netlike veining on the leaf. The plant produces an erect inflorescence up to about 30 centimeters tall. The top of the inflorescence has many white orchid flowers which may all face the same direction on the stalk, or be spirally arranged about it. [5] [6] [7]

The common name stems from the leaves, which have marks resembling snakeskin; the plant is also said to have been used to treat snakebites. [8]

Taxonomy

Goodyera oblongifolia was given its scientific name by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1833. It is classified as part of the genus Goodyera within the family Orchidaceae. It has no accepted varieties, but the species has 10 heterotypic synonyms including one variety, one form, and eight species names. [9]

Table of Synonyms
NameYearRankNotes
Epipactis decipiens(Hook.) Ames 1908species
Goodyera decipiens(Hook.) F.T.Hubb.1923species
Goodyera menziesii Lindl. 1840species nom. superfl.
Goodyera oblongifolia var. reticulataB.Boivin1951variety
Goodyera oblongifolia f. reticulata(B.Boivin) P.M.Br.1995form
Orchiodes decipiens(Hook.) Kuntze 1891species
Peramium decipiens(Hook.) Piper 1906species
Peramium menziesii Morong 1894species nom. superfl.
Spiranthes decipiens Hook. 1839species
Tussaca oblongifoliaRaf.1833species

References

  1. ↑ NatureServe (3 October 2025). "Goodyera oblongifolia". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  2. ↑ "Goodyera oblongifolia". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  3. ↑ Kallunki, Jacquelyn A. (2002). "Goodyera oblongifolia". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 26. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  4. ↑ Kartesz, John T. (2014). "Goodyera oblongifolia". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP).
  5. ↑ Gleason, H. A. & A.J. Cronquist. 1968. The Pteridophytoa, Gymnospermae and Monocotyledoneae. 1: 1–482. In H. A. Gleason New Britton and Brown Illustrated Flora of the Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada (ed. 3). New York Botanical Garden, New York
  6. ↑ Hickman, J. C. 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California 1–1400. University of California Press, Berkeley.
  7. ↑ Cronquist, A.J., A. H. Holmgren, N. H. Holmgren & Reveal. 1977. Vascular Plants of the Intermountain West, U.S.A. 6: 1–584. In A.J. Cronquist, A. H. Holmgren, N. H. Holmgren, J. L. Reveal & P. K. Holmgren (eds.) Intermountain Flora, Hafner Pub. Co., New York.
  8. ↑ Fagan, Damian (2019). Wildflowers of Oregon: A Field Guide to Over 400 Wildflowers, Trees, and Shrubs of the Coast, Cascades, and High Desert. Guilford, CT: FalconGuides. p. 65. ISBN   978-1-4930-3633-2. OCLC   1073035766.
  9. ↑ "Goodyera oblongifolia Raf". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 16 October 2025.


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