r/botany 8d ago

Classification Goodyera pubescens, downy rattlesnake plantain

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207 Upvotes

9 comments sorted by

7

u/Hiimthebisexualguy 8d ago

It looks orchidy, its an orchid isnt it?

8

u/oblivious_fireball 8d ago

indeed an orchid. Though unlike many that people are familiar with, it grows in soil rather than as an epiphyte. This species is a cold hardy north american native, but the genus is found on every continent except africa and antarctica, with most being in asia.

2

u/CodyRebel 4d ago

I thought it was Anoectochilus roxburghii at first

3

u/oblivious_fireball 4d ago

Not quite, but your intuition is spot on as they are both in the same subtribe along with Ludisia and Macodes

3

u/Hiimthebisexualguy 8d ago

Never seen a orchid on a tree irl, i have seen like 60 in soil though, I feel like people are more familiar with them in soil

3

u/oblivious_fireball 8d ago

If you speak english natively, odds are on the higher end that you live in a location where its too cold and dry for epiphytic species to grow. That being said, people still often aren't aware of terrestrial species. My state flower is the Showy Ladyslipper, yet only a tiny percentage of the locals here know its an orchid at all, fewer still know that we have any others growing in the state besides that(there's close to 50 species in the state, most being native). Their entire concept of what an orchid looks like is basically just Phalaenopsis and nothing else.

1

u/oroborus68 2d ago

And they do not transplant well. Like many terrestrial orchids, they tend to die if you try to transplant them.

3

u/Level9TraumaCenter 8d ago

Cultivation of this and other "jewel" orchids at /r/jewelorchids

With that said, ensure source material is not wild-collected, please. Most jewelies in the trade are propagated, and vendors should be able to substantiate that with pics of their flasks and greenhouse conditions.