Plant of the Week: Goodyera pubescens

Plant of the Week! Goodyera pubescens, Downy Rattlesnake-Plantain, looks like a designer plant that propagators took years to develop. In fact, it is a naturally occurring, native perennial whose native range extends from Eastern Canada down to Florida, and as far West as Oklahoma. Its leaves are evergreen and have intricate white veins. In mid to late summer, a central stalk of small, greenish white flowers is produced. After flowering, the plant’s shallow rhizome forms 1 to 3 clonal offsets, then dies. According to Illinois Wildflowers (https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/woodland/plants/dwn_ratsnk_pl.html), “this orchid usually occurs in high quality natural areas” and “is often associated with such canopy trees as oaks, pines, Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) or sugar maple (Acer saccharum).”