Scotty Smith's Orchids of Colorado. - Southwest Colorado Wildflowers

Malaxis monophyllos (L.) Sw. variety brachypoda (A. Gray) Morris &EamesMalaxis monophyllos variety brachypoda - brachypoda from the Greek word “brachys” and “podion”referring to short and foot, referring to the relatively short pedicel of this variety. monophyllos derivedfrom the Greek word “monos”, solitary leaf, referring to the single leaf to this orchid. Malaxisderived from the Greek word for, “softening”, in reference to the soft succulent consistency of theleaves in this genus.Common name: White Adder‟s- mouth orchidFlowering: from the middle of July thru the middle of August.Description: The floral stem blooms from the bottom first and then blossoms upwards. Theblooming time of this orchid is two months long. The flower itself is light whitish green in color andextremely small in size - less than a ¼ inch. The plant is less than 4-6 inches in over all height. Thisis the smallest orchid flower in Colorado. Flowers are lightly spaced along the stem of the flower,the sepals, light whitish green, folding backwards and splayed outwards towards the stem of theplant. The petals are fully opened up and almost forming a star shape. This orchid has no spur ornectary. The single leaf is dark green and almost as tall as the over plant height clasping around thebase of the stem. The lip is triangular in shape and three lobed at the base. The front of the lip ispointed and then rolls backwards. Colorado‟s Malaxis monophyllos variety brachypoda is a disjunctcollection. This is a northern orchid.Habitat: This orchid grows in partial sun to partial sunshine. Mostly found growing in wet streambanks at an elevation between 7,000 and 9,000 feet in Colorado.In Colorado, Malaxis monophyllos variety brachypoda is the rarest of all our native orchids. So rare thatit goes years between being spotted. When seen it is extremely rare in quantity. There are tworecorded sites in Colorado and one area is not considered historic. Our Malaxis is found growing incool wet dry locations, typically very mossy and grassy. Cool water running near by seems to be keyin this orchid. Besides being extremely rare it is also extremely small in stature. This is one of ourrarest orchids in the state.153