General:
Perennial herb from slender rhizomes, with fibrous roots; stems 5-20 cm tall, with 2 leaves, glandular-hairy above.
Leaves:
Two, near middle of stem, roughly opposite, egg-shaped to elliptic, 1-6 cm long, 0.7-3 cm wide, abruptly tapered to base, smooth.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a somewhat open, few-flowered, terminal raceme, the flowers green or yellowish-green; sepals broadly lanceolate, 4-7 mm long, 1-veined, distinct; petals similar to sepals, 4-6 mm long; lip 8-13 mm long, 5-7 mm wide at tip, broadly oblong, widely notched at tip, with 2 rounded lobes at base.
Fruits:
Capsules, spreading, egg-shaped, to 5 mm long.
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Listera borealis Morong
1. Lips deeply cleft into two linear pointed lobes................L. cordata
1. Lips entire or shallowly cleft into blunt lobes. 2. Lips rectangular or oblong, with rounded lobes at base, without a pair of lateral teeth................L. borealis 2. Lips wedge-shaped, with a pair of lateral teeth, no lobes at base. 3. Ovaries glabrous; lips with a long slender tooth on each side at the base, not hairy-margined...................L. caurina 3. Ovaries slightly glandular-hairy; lips with a short triangular tooth on each side at the base, finely hairy-margined.................L. convallarioides Source The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia |