Plant Profile: Goodyera pubescens

Downy Rattlesnake Plantain is a perennial herb that remains green year-round and belongs to the orchid family. This plant thrives in dry to moderately moist woodlands, bluffs, wooded slopes, and ravines. Its distinctive white leaf patterns are reminiscent of rattlesnake skin, while the flower stalks are covered in fine hairs, which is how it earned its common name. In 2016, it was honored as the wildflower of the year.

Like many orchids, Downy Rattlesnake Plantain forms a symbiotic relationship with fungi through its roots, which helps the plant absorb moisture and nutrients. In return, the plant supplies the fungi with sugars produced during photosynthesis. It propagates through rhizomatous offsets, and it may take several years for a new rosette of leaves to produce flowers. Bees are the primary pollinators of this species.

This plant is relatively easy to cultivate in a woodland garden setting. It thrives in dappled sunlight and prefers acidic soils rich in organic matter, along with a layer of mulch to maintain consistent moisture levels in the soil.