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Creeping Lady's-tresses

Creeping Lady's-tresses

Goodyera repens

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How common: Common

Creeping Lady's-tresses is a small, white‑flowered orchid of old, mossy conifer forests across the Northern Hemisphere. It creeps slowly with underground stems and often forms patches of low, ground‑hugging leaves. In summer it sends up thin, hairy stems topped with a one‑sided spike of tiny white flowers.

Did you know?

  • It lives in close partnership with a fungus that coats its roots and helps it take up water and nutrients.
  • Flowering is irregular: in good years one plant may carry many flower stems, but strong bloom years often come only every other summer.

About the species

Identification

Small evergreen orchid, 10–30 cm tall. Forms a low cluster of oval, thick, net‑veined leaves (1–3 cm) at ground level; the upper stem has only tiny scale‑like leaves. A thin, pale green, hairy stem carries a 3–7 cm one‑sided spike of many tiny, pure‑white, slightly scented flowers. The lower petal makes a small down‑turned lip, and there is no nectar tube. After flowering it makes small pods with dust‑like seeds. Spreads by creeping underground stems and produces many non‑flowering leaf clusters. Unlike Autumn Lady’s‑tresses, its flowers are not spiralled and it grows in mossy forests, not open grassland. Flowers in July–August; flowering is irregular and strong bloom years often come every other year.

Plant group

Herbaceous plants

Habitat

heath forest

Flowering

Jul–Aug

About the habitat

Grows in old, mossy conifer woods, especially spruce forests; also in damp, shady woodland with a thick moss layer. Most typical of long‑undisturbed forest floors. Common in southern and central Finland; rarer in Lapland.

Sources

Photo: Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Goodyera repens kz11.jpg

Text: Pinkka: BIO-503 Suomen kasvisto ja kasvillisuus - Metsät: tuoreet kankaat, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.40045

Text: Pinkka: A Pohjolan kasveja - Gagea-Hepatica, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.40045

Text: Pinkka (Luomus), CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.40045

Text: Pinkka: Kasvien talvi - Talvivihreät luonnonkasvit, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.40045

Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%C3%B6vilkka

See also