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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE ORCHID FAMILY | |||||||||
| The orchid family is easily recognizable
because of the unique structures of the flower. There are usually three
sepals and three petals, similar to other petaloid monocots; however, the
sepals often look like the two side petals. The middle petal is called the
labellum or lip and is usually highly modified. The lip can be pouch-like,
have appendages or be coloured differently than the rest of the perianth.
The stamens, style, and stigma are fused together to form the column. There
is usually one functional anther with two pollen sacs that contain masses
of pollen called pollinia. The stigma is usually a sticky surface at the
tip or beak of the column. The ovary is long and can be seen below the sepals
and petals. Orchid flowers can be very bright and large, which makes them popular ornamental plants. This family is well represented in the tropics. Saskatchewan has several orchid species, most of which are quite small. |
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| WESTERN RATTLESNAKE PLANTAIN | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Goodyera oblongifolia | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Western rattlesnake plantain grows from creeping rhizomes. The stem and leaves are densely glandular-hairy. The leaves are basal with wide stalks. The blades are more or less fleshy. They are dark bluish-green streaked with white along the midrib and occasionally along the side veins. The sepals and petals are greenish-white in colour. The side sepals and petals are joined to form a boat-shaped hood. The lip is also boat shaped and has four unequal rows on glands on the inner surface. The ovary is short and stout. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Western rattlesnake plantain grows in moist, shady woods. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in southwestern Saskatchewan in the Cypress Upland ecoregion. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Western rattlesnake plantain is threatened because of rarity in Saskatchewan and is regionally restricted to one subregion in the province. Some local populations are small; however, no threats are known or anticipated. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY WESTERN RATTLESNAKE PLANTAIN | |||||||||
| * Are the leaves basal? * Are the leaves whitened around the midrib only? * Are sepals and petals greenish-white? * Did you find in southwestern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found western rattlesnake plantain! | |||||||||
