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Another little woodland orchid

2008 August 21
by kmr

Originally published August 21, 2008
The downy rattlesnake plantain has a rosette of distinctive white veined, evergreen leaves. Photo by Dave Otto.
The downy rattlesnake plantain has a rosette of distinctive white veined, evergreen leaves. Photo by Dave Otto

By Ken Moore

The downy rattlesnake plantain, Goodyera pubescens, another little native orchid, is not nearly as hard to spot in the local woods as is the cranefly orchid described last week. Keeping an eye out for the distinctive basal rosette of three or more white-veined, evergreen leaves helps you discover the three-to-six-inch-tall flowering spike of snow-white flowers at the end of mid-summer. You’ll find it in piney woods and hardwoods forest everywhere.

Whenever you are hiking at this time of year in our far-western mountain forests, be on the lookout for a miniature version of this orchid, Goodyera repens, lesser rattlesnake plantain. It is smaller in every way and the white orchid flowers are usually clustered on one side of the flowering stem rather than surrounding it. You’ll find it on mossy ground in moist conifer forests and beneath rhododendron.

Appreciating the worthy medicinal heritage of this native begins with knowing that its official Latin name, Goodyera, honors John Goodyer (1592-1664, who assisted with the preparation of one of the editions of John Gerard’s famous Herball, the early bible of medicinal plant use. The species name, pubescens, is physically descriptive; a close look at the flower cluster will reveal a very pubescent or downy-haired flower stem and an even closer look will reveal that the flowers themselves are downy.

James Duke’s Handbook of Northeastern Indian Medicinal Plants describes the uses of specific tribes. The Seneca used the herb for nervousness; the Delaware made root decoctions for pleurisy and rheumatism; the Cherokee applied wilted leaves to burns; soaked the leaves in water to make an ooze for sore eyes; made a tea for colds, kidney ailments and toothaches; and, most interesting of all, added whiskey to improve the appetite.

Note here that I am not recommending any of these uses. There are not enough orchids in the woods for such use. They are best enjoyed for their beauty and their place in nature, and the medicinal heritage is a wonderful reflection back to a time when the Earth was far less burdened with human population.

Why is it called rattlesnake plantain? I always imagined that long ago the close-to-the-ground rosette of leaves reminded someone of the larger leaf rosettes of the common plantain, Plantago major, and I’ve simply used my own imagination to see a rattlesnake-tail resemblance in the orchid’s dried fruit stalk.

There is, however, a definite snake connection. I enjoy Paul Green’s account of rattlesnake plantain in the Paul Green Plant Book. “This pretty tufted, white, vein-leaved plant appears in all parts of the Cape Fear River Valley. It has been reputed to be a cure for hydrophobia and snakebite. Legend tells that the Indians had such faith in its virtues that they were not afraid of snakebites at all and, when bitten, would apply these leaves to the wound and soon go on as if nothing had happened.”

Now that’s impressive.

With a close look you’ll see the downy covering of pubescence on the stems and the flowers of downy rattlesnake plantain. Photo by Dave Otto.
With a close look you’ll see the downy covering of pubescence on the stems and the flowers of downy rattlesnake plantain. Photo by Dave Otto

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