Aplectrum hyemale
Puttyroot or Adam-and-Eve is a hibernal perennial: a single leaf grows from a corm (an underground plant stem) in autumn, taking advantage of winter sunlight coming through the deciduous trees under which it grows, and then withers in spring. If conditions are right, it will then send up a flowering stem. In the Maryland piedmont that will be sometime in mid to late May. It’s native to eastern North America, and is on six northeastern states’ conservation lists (as endangered, threatened, etc.).

seedpods

 

 

 

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Galearis spectabilis
Showy orchis has a similar range to puttyroot, and grows in similar habitats (rich, moist soils in deciduous woodlands). It’s not a hibernal, though: the two basal leaves of a mature plant appear in spring and persist until mid autumn (young plants have only one leaf). A single flowering raceme produces up to a dozen flowers; look for them in starting in mid April in the piedmont. The flowers are purple and white, but there is a form with all-white blossoms, as shown here. Showy orchis is on five states’ conservation lists.

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Cypripedium acaule
Pink lady’s slipper or moccasin flower grows in a wider range of habitats than the previous two orchids, including mixed deciduous-coniferous woodlands, and has a more northern and eastern range that includes the Appalachians, New England, the upper midwest, and parts of Canada. It’s listed in four states. Like showy orchis, the plant consists of two basal leaves and a single flowering stem, but this stem produces only one flower. It’s a spectacular one, though. Look for it in early to mid May in the piedmont.

 

 

 

 

 

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Goodyera pubescens
Downy rattlesnake plantain is yet another native of eastern North American woodlands. This orchid likes drier, more acidic soils than the others. The plant has a basal rosette of white-striped evergreen leaves, and produces a single flowering spike in mid to late July. The spike can be more than a foot tall, with dozens of flowers crowded along the topmost portion.

 

 

 

 

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Tipularia discolor
Like puttyroot, cranefly orchid has a single hibernal leaf that withers before the single flowering raceme emerges. This usually happens in mid to late July, and the flowers open roughly two weeks later. There can be four dozen or more tiny flowers on the spike. This is also an eastern North America native, but it’s found more to the south and west than the others. It’s listed in five states. Cranefly orchid grows in moist soils in deciduous and mixed deciduous-coniferous woodlands. At first glance the flowers seem to be bilaterally symmetrical, but they are actually a little torqued.