Orchidaceae

Epipactis gigantea

Stream Orchid

Stem erect, leaves and flowers at top. Plant fast-spreading. Leaves oval, clasping entire stem, smaller upward. Flowers from upper leaf axils, opening a few at a time, on one side of stem and not crowded. Flower yellowish green with red-purple veins; top 3 sepals and 2 petals flat; lower, extended, pouch-like petal green to yellow outside, tinted and lined with purple inside, deeply concave. Grows in wet places, seeps, streambanks, damp soils, below treeline. Introduced from Europe, E. helleborine grows in dry places along roads, on slopes; flowers are smaller than stream orchid, white or green tinted pink-purple, pouch-like petal white or tinted pinkish outside, purple to brown on inside.

• Rarity: Common
• Flowering Time: Mid Summer
• Life Cycle: Perennial
• Height: 12--35 inches
• Habitat: Meadow, Bog/Fen/Wetland, Moist Riverbanks
• Found In: Siskiyous, Olympic Np, West Gorge, N Cascades Np
• Native: Yes