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Seed Dispersal: A Tale Of Two Species, W. John Hayden
Seed Dispersal: A Tale Of Two Species, W. John Hayden
Biology Faculty Publications
Orchids have minute, dustlike seeds. In this respect, Goodyera pubescens (Downy Rattlesnake Plantain), the 2016 VNPS Wildflower of the Year, is a typical orchid. Like all other orchids, Goodyera seeds contain little more than a few embryonic cells enclosed in a thin seed coat. There are two advantages to small seed size in orchids: minute seeds can be produced in prodigious quantities, and they can disperse over great distances by wind.
2016 Virginia Wildflower Of The Year: Downy Rattlesnake Plantain, Goodyera Pubescens, W. John Hayden
2016 Virginia Wildflower Of The Year: Downy Rattlesnake Plantain, Goodyera Pubescens, W. John Hayden
Biology Faculty Publications
Regardless of season, Downy Rattlesnake Plantain is a delight to encounter in the woods of Virginia. This evergreen orchid is a perennial rhizomatous herb of the forest floor. The horizontal rhizomes, usually covered lightly by leaf litter, bear roots at intervals and terminate in a rosette of leaves. Leaves are alternate, somewhat crowded together, and only slightly elevated above ground level. Leaf blades are ovate, 3–8 cm long, and 1.5–3 cm wide, often of varying size within a rosette. Leaves are present year-round, bluish-green, with prominent white veins; on each leaf, a broad midvein is flanked by two smaller veins …