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What's blooming in Bath, Highland
 | | The distinctive leaves of downy rattlesnake plantain are common in all types of Highland woodlands. Few people know this little plant is a native orchid. Look for the spikes of small white flowers (inset) this week and next. (Recorder photo by Charles Garratt) |
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WARM SPRINGS - Orchids, orchids everywhere in the fields and woods of the Highlands this week and next. One that everyone can find, the downy rattlesnake plantain, is known by its distinctive rosette of leaves, but few people realize it is an orchid.
Downy rattlesnake plantain, Goodyera pubescens, is the most common native orchid in the central Appalachian Mountains. In the Highlands, the little plants are found in just about every type of forest habitat except places boggy and wet. They can be numerous in pine stands and large clumps can be found in mixed hardwoods.
The flower spike is small but distinctive, often growing to a foot or more above the basal leaves which lay close to the ground. The individual flowers are tiny and bloom from the bottom up on the top third of the spike. The lower flowers are often turning brown before the top flowers open.
There are different theories of where the name downy rattlesnake plantain originated. The "downy" obviously comes from the small hairs that cover the stem, leaves and flowers giving them a downy appearance.
The "plantain" possibly relates to the circle of basal leaves similar in arrangement but not in appearance to common plantain. The "rattlesnake" part of the name is a more of a mystery.
When the flowers are pollinated and mature into seed capsules, the stem of dried capsules looks very much like the rattle end of a rattlesnake. Perhaps when dust and fragments get trapped in the open capsules, the dried spikes will even rattle a bit in the wind.
The dried capsules and stems often persist through the winter and some can be found even as plants are blooming this time of the year. Having old seed capsules persist isn't uncommon for native orchids in the Highlands and is one way to find some species such as puttyroot and crane-fly orchids, which have hard-to-see flowers.
This week and next is the peak of the summer native orchid flowering season. Look for purple fringeless orchid in fields and fence lines that stay wet year around.
The beautiful yellow-orange to orange flowers of yellow fringed orchid can be found in sunny seeps even on roadsides.
Green adder's mouth orchid, woodland or club-spur orchid, crane-fly orchid, spotted coralroot orchid and the rare Bentley's coralroot orchid are also in bloom. Some of these are very small, so look carefully when walking in the woods.
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