Rattlesnake Plantain
Goodyera Menziesii, Lindl. Orchis Family
Leaves.—Two or three inches long; leathery; dark green, veined with white. Scape.—Six to fifteen inches high, with scattered lanceolate bracts. Spike.—Many-flowered. Perianth.—White; two to four lines long; downy. Lateral sepals deflexed; upper and two petals coherent. Lip erect, saccate below, concave above, and narrowing into the recurved summit. Anther.—On the base of the column behind. Ovary.—One-celled. Hab.—Mountains, from Mendocino and Mariposa Counties to British Columbia.
The rattlesnake plantain is frequently met under the coniferous trees of our northern woods. Its common name comes from the mottling of its leaves, which is similar to that of the rattlesnake’s skin. In midsummer, or later, the plant sends up a stalk of small but shapely little blossoms. These are so modest, one would hardly suspect they belonged to the showy orchis family.