Listera banksiana

Northwest twayblade, Northwestern Twayblade

Family: Orchidaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Northwest twayblade is a California native perennial found in northern coastal and Klamath Range bioregions in moist, shady conifer forests at elevations of 100 to 1,900 meters. Flowering from April to June, this delicate orchid produces small, subtle flowers with an elongated lip. Growing with slender stems 10 to 30 centimeters tall, it emerges quietly in dense forest understories. Its leaves have broad blades 2.5 to 7 centimeters long, abruptly tapered at the base with rounded edges. The distinctive flower lip is 4.5 to 7 millimeters long, slightly oblanceolate with a rounded tip and two thread-like basal teeth.

Habitat: Moist, shady conifer forest

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: 100-1900 m

Bioregions: NCo, KR

California counties: Siskiyou, Del Norte

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.