Goodyera pubescens
Downy Rattlesnake Plantain
Please register or login to build your personal plant list.Blue-green evergreen leaves and spires of white flowers on this native orchid make it a unique addition to your garden.
Description:
This evergreen orchid offers interest in all four seasons. Downy Rattlesnake Plantain have evergreen blue-green leaves, each with a white stripe down the center and white vein pattern throughout. The leaves grow in a whorl reaching less than 6 inches off the ground. A single stalk rises from the center of the leafy rosette carrying numerous tiny, white, evenly spaced, hairy flowers. Colonies form loose mats on the forest floor. Easily grown in well-drained organically-rich, moist to dry soil. Downy Rattlesnake Plantain tolerates drought. Characteristic of orchids, the roots have a realtionship with the mycorrhizal fungi in the soil and do not transplant well. Its native habitat includes woodlands. Purchase Downy Rattlesnake Plantain from a reputable speciality nursery and plant in your yard under a canopy of trees or along a shady woodland edge. Wildlife Value: Flowers are pollinated by bumble bees and other native bees.
Plant Details:
Plant Type: Groundcover
New Jersey Native: Yes
Bloom Times: Summer, Late Summer to Fall
Bloom Colors: White
Deer Resistance: Unknown
Attracts Pollinators and Wildlife: Bees and Other Pollinators
Salt Tolerance: Unknown
Hardiness Zone: 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b
Physiographic Region: All Regions in NJ
Soil Characteristics
Soil Type: Loam, Organic, Sandy
Soil Moisture: Dry, Moist
Soil pH: Slightly Acidic, Neutral, Slightly Alkaline
Light Needs of Plant
Optimal Light: Partial Shade
Light Range: Partial Shade, Shade
Water Needs of Plant
Soil Moisture: Dry, Moist
Drought Tolerance: High
Size and Growth Rate
Height: 1 - 2 ft
Spread: .75 - 1 ft
Growth Rate: Medium