Goodyera repens : Rattlesnake plantain

Scientific Name:

Kingdom: Plantae

Division:

• Tracheophyta (vascular)
• Spermatophyta (seed bearing)
Angiospermae (enclosed seed)

Class: Monocoteldonae (one seed-leaf)

Family: Orchidaceae (Orchid Family)

Genera: Goodyera (Rattlesnake plantain) (Named for John Goodyer an English botanist, 1592-1664)

Species: repens (Lat. repens=to creep, referring to the creeping growth of the rhizomes)

English Name(s):

Rattlesnake plantain, Dwarf / Northern / Lesser Rattlesnake plantain

First Nation Names:

Structure:

• Plant from creeping rhizomes (underground stem) with fleashy fibrous roots.
• Stems erect, 10-25cm tall, leafless but with bracts, glandular-pubescent (hairy)

Leaves:

• 2-3cm long, onpetiole (stem) in a basal cluster.
• Ovate-lanceolate in shape with reticulate (net) viens.

Reproductive Parts:

• Flowers perfect (bisexual). Zygomorphic (biliteral symmetry).
• Petals 3 of which the side two are alike but are different from the lower one which is lip like.
• Sepals 3.
• anthers (male parts) single with 2 bundles of pollen.
• Flowers several, in a loose, and twisted raceme.
• Lower petal (lip) 3-4mm long, sac-like, with tip curved backward.
• Side sepals 1-nerved (mid-rib) 3-4mm long.
• Upper sepal united with the side petals and forming a hood.

Seed:

• Fruit a three chambered capsule containing innumerable minute seeds.
• Capsule erect to divergent, ovoid to elliptic 5-9mm long, tiped with the driedremains of the flower.
• Seeds number238-419 per capsule.

Not to Be Confused With:

Physiology:

• Herbacious.
• G. repens does not require mycorrhizal fungi to germinate.
• Are capable of forming extensive colonies by cloning.

Life Cycle:

• Perennial.
• Starts to flower in the 8th year.

Seasonal Cycle:

• deciduous.
• Flowers blooming in mid-summer.

Animal Uses:

• Flowers are sweetly scented both day and night so as to attract the maximum number of moths and butterflies.

Habitat:

• Damp, mossy spruce woods.

Modern:

Industrial:

Medicinal:

• An infusion of several crushed leaves makes a soothing eyewash.
• Dried and ground into a powder the roots and leaves are used as a drawing poultice.
• Leaves and roots, crushed are soothing and slimy and are used fresh for soothing scratches, inflammations, insect bites, et cetera...

Food:

Traditional Gwich'in:

Folklore:

Industrial:

Medicinal:

Food:

Traditional Other:

Folklore:

Industrial:

Medicinal:

• A cold infusion of the leaves was held in the mouth for toothache and taken to treat colds and kidney problems.
• A compound decoction was taken as a blood tonic and to build appetite.
• Leaves crushed and used to prevent thrush in babies by the Mohegans.
• Leaves were used to treat TB of the lymb glands and diseases of the eye and to sooth irritated mucous membranes.
• The Cherokee dripped the plants juice into sore eyes.
• The Potawatomi used the leaves and roots to treat bladder ot stomach ailments, and female disorders.

Food: