Goodyera

Goodyera, commonly called rattlesnake plantain,[2] jade orchids[3] or ladies’ tresses[4] is a wide-ranging genus of orchids in the tribe Cranichideae. About 100 species of Goodyera have been formally described. They are native to Europe, Madeira, Mozambique, North and Central America, islands from the west Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and to Australia. They have a rosette of leaves at their base and usually many small white resupinate flowers. They are similar to orchids in the genus Spiranthes but can be distinguished from them by the shape and colour patterns of the leaves.

Plants in the genus Goodyera are mainly terrestrial plants with a fleshy, creeping rhizome and a loose rosette of leaves at the base of a flowering stem with many small, resupinate flowers. The leaves are elliptic, characteristically asymmetrical and green with white or pale green markings. The entire plant apart from the flowers is covered with slightly sticky hairs. The dorsal sepal and petals overlap, forming a hood over the column and the lateral sepals spread widely. The labellum is not lobed but has a small pouch. Orchids in the genus Spiranthes are similar but have oblong or egg-shaped, plain green leaves.[2][3]

The genus Goodyera was first formally described in 1813 by Robert Brown and the description was published in William Aiton’s Hortus Kewensis.[1] The genus name honours John Goodyer.[4][5]

Orchids in the genus Goodyera are found in Europe, Madeira, Mozambique, North and Central America and islands from the western Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and in Australia.[1]