| Photo Gallery |
|
|
 |
||
| Epipactis helleborine is an orchid species native to Europe which has become naturalized in much of the northeastern United States and Canada, to the western Great Lakes region, and moving westward. It seeds itself readily, especially in disturbed areas, and some botanists may regard this plant an "invasive weed". It is not known whether this plant came to the New World by accident, or was purposely brought by European immigrants as a garden plant. | ||
 |
||
| The small 3/4 inch flowers of this orchid are produced on an inflorescence up to 2 feet high, and each nodding flower has an enlarged ovary and a leafy bract. The lip of the flower is a small pouch, which gives the plant the common name "Poor Man's Ladyslipper." | ||
 |
||
|
This is a small plant, approximately 1 foot high, blooming for the first time, on June 18, 2003, in Nashville, Tennessee. Eventually the plant may reach a height of 3 feet. Epipactis helleborine grows from an underground rhizome, a foot or more below the soil surface. The annual growths die back to the ground each winter, reappearing in the late spring. This plant prefers moist soils in bright but shady areas The genus Epipactis contains about 35 species world-wide, with distribution throughout Europe, northern Africa, the Middle East, throughout Asia, and one species, Epipactis gigantea, which is native to the western United States. This plant was originally collected in Ohio, and after blooming, it failed to thrive and died. This is typical behavior for this species as it is almost impossbile to transplant. |
||
|
|