Snake Mouth Orchid

Snake mouth orchids are lovely, uncommon, tiny bog flowers.

To this writer's nose, their flowers have the faint fragrance of raspberries. Or if Thoreau's judgment is favored, that of "a snake."

Pogonia ophioglossoides blooms from May to mid-July. Their 1-inch to 1.5-inch-wide flowers top slender, 10- to 20-inch stems that typically rise out of the wettest areas of the bog.

Pogonia, the genus name of the snake mouth, is derived from the Greek word "pogom." It means beard and refers to the orchid's delicately fringed beard.

Two of the pink flowers on a single stem, as the one pictured here had when the top bud opened, are comparatively rare. Usually, there is one, with a single 2- to 4-inch leaf about midway the stem.

A cluster of fiberous roots embedded in the bog floor supports the plant. The root bundle sends our runners and other shoots.

Scientific Classification

• Superdivision: Spermatophyta -- Seed plants (seed plants)
• Division: Magnoliophyta (flowering plants)
• Class: Liliopsida (Monocotyledons)
• Subclass: Liliidae
• Order: Orchidales
• Family: Orchidaceae (Orchid family)
• Genus: Pogonia Juss.
• Species: Pogonia ophioglossoides (L.) Ker-Gawl. (snakemouth orchid)