Goodyera
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 The flowers of Goodyera repens, sometimes called "creeping lady's tresses" or "dwarf rattlesnake plantain" | ||||||||||||
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Goodyera (after John Goodyer, British botanist, who helped Johnson in his edition of Gerairde's Herbal). Orchidaceae, tribe Polychondrese. Dwarf terrestrial orchids of minor importance which are cultivated chiefly for their variegated foliage.
Leaves radical, usually reticulately veined: fls. in dense or loose spikes; labellum saccate; anther on the back of the column.—About 25 species. They have scapes 8-18 in. high at most. Difficult to grow; require shade. Includes the rattlesnake plantain.
Goodyera are a wide-ranging genus of orchid, one of approximately 800 described Orchidaceae genera within that large and diverse family. The genus is named after botanist John Goodyer.
There are about 25 species of Goodyera worldwide. Creeping rhizomes and rosettes of evergreen leaves characterize the genus. Goodyera is closely related to the genus Spiranthes.[1]
Goodyera flowers are characterized by a saccate nectary of the lip with a beak-shaped apex. Sepals and petals are connivant over the column. Pollinia in Goodyera are granular, in contrast to Cranichideae, another member of this tribe.[1]
Orchids of this genus grow in environments ranging from alpine valleys in Scandinavia to the laurisilva of Macaronesia to North American coniferous forests.
"Lady's tresses" is a common name given to some of these species. The four species endemic to North America are called "rattlesnake plantain".
Representative species include:
- Goodyera pubescens
- Goodyera oblongifolia
- Goodyera repens
- Goodyera tesselata
- Goodyera schlectendaliana
Many Goodyera species are threatened in at least part of their range. In areas where more than one species may be found, hybridization is common.[1]
