Goodyera tesselata
Goodyera repens
checkered rattlesnake-plantain, goodyérie panachée
dwarf rattlesnake orchid, dwarf rattlesnake-plantain, goodyérie rampante, lesser rattlesnake-plantain
blade with lateral veins and sometimes midrib prominently to faintly bordered with bands of white, gray, or paler green tissue frequently merging, giving leaf rather blotched appearance, especially near margins and apex where veins are closer together, infrequently uniformly green or with only midrib whitened, narrowly elliptic to ovate, 1.4–5.5 × 0.9–2.6 cm, apex usually acute.
blade uniformly green or with green lateral veins bordered by white or greenish white tissue, narrowly to broadly ovate, 1.1–3.2 × 0.5–1.8 cm, apex acute or obtuse.
densely to loosely spiraled or secund, 5–72-flowered;
peduncle 6–23 cm.
secund, infrequently loosely spiraled, 7–36-flowered;
peduncle 3–18 cm.
lateral sepals 3.8–6 mm;
petals connivent;
hood 3.9–7.1 mm;
lip deeply concave to saccate, 3–5.5 × 1.2–3.1 mm, apex spreading or recurved, blunt or acute, inner surface with 2 or 4 unequal rows of glandular papillae;
anther erect, base 0–1/3 immersed in shallowly concave to cup-shaped clinandrium, apex apiculate to acuminate;
pollinia acute or short-acuminate;
rostellar beak 2-pronged, 0.6–1.7 mm, equal to or longer than body of stigma;
viscidium elliptic.
lateral sepals 3–5.2 mm;
petals distinct;
hood 3–5.5 mm;
lip narrowly saccate, lanceolate, 1.8–4.8 × 1.4–3.2 mm, apex acute, recurved or reflexed, inner surface with 2 or 4 glandular ridges;
anther inflexed, not immersed in shallowly concave clinandrium, apex apiculate;
pollinia blunt;
rostellar beak 2-pronged, 0.2–0.6 mm, shorter than body of stigma;
viscidium orbiculate.
= 45, 60.
= 30.
Goodyera tesselata
Goodyera repens
Goodyera tesselata is almost completely restricted to once-glaciated areas in the Great Lakes region, the northeastern United States, and adjacent Canada.
Goodyera tesselata tends to be taller and to have larger leaves, more cauline bracts, more flowers, and longer perianths than Goodyera repens. Although overlap exists in any count or measurement, the two are, for the most part, easily distinguishable. Some of the difficulty in identifying ambiguous specimens is explained by the hypothesis (J. A. Kallunki 1976) that G. tesselata itself is intermediate between and a probable allotetraploid of G. repens with white-reticulate leaves and G. oblongifolia. Because the tetraploids and the triploid hybrids (2n = ca. 45) cannot be distinguished with certainty by their morphology, the description here includes individuals of both tetraploid and triploid individuals. In the extreme, individuals of G. tesselata (in the broad sense) approach G. repens more often than G. oblongifolia, and it is sometimes impossible to distinguish some triploids from G. repens with white-reticulate leaves.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Two varieties of Goodyera repens have been recognized: individuals with plain green leaves as var. repens and those with leaf veins bordered by broad white bands as var. ophioides Fernald. Many specimens from western North America are intermediate in this character: the bands bordering the veins are extremely narrow and almost indistinguishable by color from the leaf blade proper. Most specimens from eastern North America have obviously white-reticulate leaves, and most specimens from western Canada have plain green leaves (some with darker green veins). At several localities in western North America, plants with plain green leaves and plants with faintly reticulate leaves are found together (W. J. Cody 1961). Individuals with faintly reticulate leaves and those with plain green leaves are often found on the same herbarium sheet and, infrequently, both kinds of leaves occur on the same plant. Because of this variation in the degree of white reticulation, the varieties are not recognized here. Individuals with plain green leaves, obviously white-reticulate leaves, and intermediate leaves occur in Alaska.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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