I have some rattlesnake plantain plants, a terrestrial orchid. They are quite diminutive, but I wonder if they could be used in a terrarium. They do go through a zone 7 winter here and stay everygreen during that time. What do you folks think?
rattlesnake plantain
I think they (goodyera repens) would be a lot better off by leaving them outdoors but if you have enough to try one in a terrarium, then why not? The worst it could do is curl up and die.
Very pretty. I too would try one if there were enough around.
Lana
WoodSpirit1:
Depending on the rattlesnake plantain, it is either
"demonstrably secure"(goodyera pubescens) (1000+ populations), or
"on NC state 'watch list'; rare/imperiled" (goodyera replens) (6-100 populations).
If you believe it to be goodyera replens, I would hope that you would leave it in place.
I'm not certain enough of how to tell them apart. The pictures I've found look so much the same.
See:
http://www.ncwildflower.org/plants/orchids/orchids.html
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/wildflowers/goodyera_pubescens.html
Mary S.
I think mine is Goodyera pubescents, the Downy rattlesnake plantain. I will look again when the buds open. But I have not moved it nor offered it for trade as it require very acid humesy soil and lots of shade and rain.
woodspirit1:
You may be familiar with these, but in case not:
At any given date in late spring/early summer these will be in various stages of flowering, depending on where they are located in the woods. When you're walking around the woods, you may see only the top of the flowers/seed pods poking out on a slender stalk. I am trying to document the various stages the plants go through, so when folks walk around our trails they can know what to look for. I'm also marking the plants with flags, so that I can detour trails around them -- and locate plants again later.
http://davesgarden.com/journal/j/vbc/CutNGlass/49918/
I have a series of pix I took recently of a goodyera pubescens plant which initially only had the seed pods showing. (campsite trail location)
The other goodyera pix (roadwatch trail location) shows the wiggly, windy stem when I first uncovered that specimen. After a couple of weeks it straightened up (and is now starting to blossom). That particular picture gives a good idea to the source of the "rattlesnake" portion of the common name. It is really "snake-like" in appearance at that stage!
I have never tried to start these from seeds, but that could be an interesting experiment to try propagating them from seed in a terrarium. Also, I've noticed that spotted wintergreen often grows very nearby (sometimes only inches away), so you may want to poke around under the leaves near your plant to see what else you may find.
Mary S.
Are those the leaves of that plant? Mine are low-growing, with patterened leaves, like a snake skin. I have seeds if you want them They are quite tiny and there are a zillion of them.
I bought a root of the goodyera pubescens this spring (because I love jewel orchids), and had hopes of growing it in a pot or terrarium. I live in an apt and can only garden indoors and on my balcony. My "baby" is alive, but it is still so tiny! I keep it evenly moist, in a peaty mix with good drainage, and it receives indirect light just to the right of an east window.
Here is a photo... (LOL! The penny focused better than the plant!)
Karen
CutNGlass, I hope you will join our Southern Appalachian Round-up next spring. Our first one was success and we vowed to do it again next year.
woodspirt1:
1) The pix in previous post are seeds which are sticking up on long, skinny stem. That is one of three pictures from my link under the location "campsite trail" (link above). It is what to look for when searching for this plants in the woods after they have finished blooming. The stem w/ blossoms on it is easier to see, but often some have already finished. That one was one of the first ones to bloom.
2) What is a round-up? Where do I get info on it?
