Family: Orchidaceae,
Orchid
Genus: Coeloglossum
Description
General: perennial, sturdy, leafy-stemmed, 20-50 cm tall,
hairless, from fleshy roots.
 Leaves: alternate, sheathing, somewhat reduced and
narrowed upward, the lower ones with oblong-lanceolate,
mostly rounded blades 3-7 cm long, round-tipped, the
middle ones largest, up to 10-12 cm long, more pointed.
 Flowers: many in a dense, elongated spike, the bracts
conspicuous, green, lanceolate, the lower ones leaflike,
2-4 cm long, reduced upward but often longer than the
flowers. Flowers almost stalkless, greenish. Upper sepal
ovate, 4-6 mm long, concave, the side sepals broadly
lanceolate, concave, slightly longer than the upper one,
blunt-tipped, touching the petals and upper sepal, forming
a hood over the lip. Petals narrower and shorter than the
sepals, the lip oblong, 7-11 mm long, about 3 mm broad,
3-lobed at the tip, the middle lobe always the shortest.
Spur sac-like, 1/4-1/2 as long as the lip, pale and
translucent. Pollen sacs about 1.5 mm long, joining
tissue less than 1 mm wide.
Flowering time: June-July.
 Fruits: erect, elliptic capsules.
Distribution
Dryish to moist woods and open mountain slopes, in w.
and c. parts of MT. Also from AK to B.C., WY, UT, CO,
NM, NE, IL, WV, and NC, and in Eurasia. |
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