Green Wildflowers

Bedstraw, Fragrant Bedstraw, Oregon False Hellebore Fleeceflower Fragrant Fringecup

Mitrewort, Leafy Slender Bog Orchid Rattlesnake Plantain Twayblade, Heart-leaf Twayblade, Northwestern

 

Fragrant Bedstraw

NPS Photo

Bedstraw, Fragrant

Galium triflorum

Spreading to form loose mats, this plant has stems about 20 inches (50 cm) long interspersed with whorls of six leaves. Three white-greenish flowers on short stalks branch from the leaf-worls, becoming nutlets (seeds) with hooked hairs that stick to clothes of passing hikers. The leaves release sweet-smelling coumarins when crushed, giving the plant its name.

 

Oregon Bedstraw

NPS Photo

Bedstraw, Oregon

Galium oreganum

This plant has numerous stems, 4-12 inches (10-30 cm) long, branching from creeping rootstock. Unlike fragrant bedstraw which has 6-leaf whorls, Oregon bedstraw has only four leaves per whorl. White-greenish flowers cluster at the end of the stems, and turn into nutlets covered in long, hooked hairs. Common in forests up to 5,000 feet (1,500 m).

 

False Hellebore, with inset showing a detail of a flower.

NPS Photo

False Hellebore

Veratrum viride

Also known as corn lily for its large veined leaves that look like corn leaves. Even before the plant blooms, the clusters of leaves can create attractive textures in contrast to other meadow plants. Flowers are green to yellowish-white and bloom in drooping clusters along a tall stem, which can be 12-35 inches (30-88 cm) high. Common in subalpine meadows.

 

Fleeceflower plants (left) with close up of flower (right).

NPS Photo

Fleeceflower

Polygonum newberryi

One of the first plants to colonize disturbed soil (such as along trails), this plant has brittle stems that can break off and take root where they fall. Stems can be 12 inches (30 cm) long, with pale green oval leaves that turn red in fall. Flowers are small, only 0.1 inch (3 mm) long, and greenish-white in color. Common in drier meadows on the east side of the park, between 6,000-7,500 feet (1,828-2,286 m).

 

Fragrant Fringecup

NPS Photo

Fragrant Fringecup

Tellima grandiflora

This plant, as its name implies, has green, cup-shaped flowers with distinctive "fringed" petals. Flowers grow along a stem 20-31 inches (50-80 cm) tall, with hairy, heat-shaped leaves that have 3-5 lobes. Common in lower elevation forests.

 

Leafy Mitrewort

NPS Photo

Mitrewort, Leafy

Mitella caulescens

Leafy mitrewort is a small plant, 6-12 inches (15-30 cm) tall, with a single stem of flowers. Unlike other mitreworts, which only have basal leaves, this species has a few toothed, five-lobed, leaves along the flowering stem. Flowers are greenish, with the petals divided into 7-9 segments. Found in low-elevation forests.

 

Slender Bog Orchid

NPS, Crow Vecchio

Slender Bog Orchid

Platanthera stricta

The flowers of this orchid are green, which can make it difficult to spot amidst the park's lush lowland vegetation. Flowers form a loosely-arranged spike at the top of a 8-24 inch (20-60 cm) tall stem, with alternating lance-shaped leaves along stem. Usually found in wet meadows along streams and springs in both forest to subalpine elevations.

 

Rattlesnake-Plantain leaves (left) and flowers (right).

NPS Photo

Rattlesnake-Plantain

Goodyera oblongifolia

Common in drier forests below 4,500 feet (1,371 m), this plant has a ring of basal leaves. Leaves are dark green, with a white stripe mid-rib or mottled white net-like patterns. A single stalk supports many small, hooded greenish-white flowers.

 

Heart-Leaf TwayBlade (right), with close-up of flower (left).

NPS Photo

Twayblade, Heart-leaf

Neottia cordata

A member of the orchid family, this plant is named for its two heart-shaped leaves. Flowers are mostly green, but can also be reddish to reddish-brown. Twayblade can be found growing in moist coniferous forest up to 4,500 feet (1,372 m).

 

Northwestern Twayblade

NPS Photo

Twayblade, Northwestern

Neottia banksiana

Formerly known as Listera caurina, this plant is very similar to heart-leaf twayblade. However, instead of a split lower-lip, the green flowers have a broad lower-lip. It is also the tallest of the twayblade species, reaching up to 12 inches (30 cm) high. Common in low elevation forests, and can be found growing next to other twayblade species.

 

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