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

Listera cordataLip: Light green to dark green; rarely reddish-brown to purple-brown; orthe lip one color and the rest of the flower the other; usuallyperpendicular to the leaves and the ground surface. With two lobes, up½ to ¾ the length of the lip, pointed at the apices; distinctive with theextremely “V” shaped fissure and split like the tongue of a snake.Column: Light green to purple-brown, poking out and downwards fromthe face of the flower.Petals and Sepals: Light green to dark greenrarely reddish-brown to purple-brown; usuallyperpendicular to the leaves and ground andalmost resembling a smiling face.Leaves: Dark green. Two leaves opposed toeach other, parallel to the ground, usually at orjust above the ground level. Leaves are heartshaped in appearance with highly veinedsurfaces.Habitat: Moist to slow moving water in somesort of mossy cover; usually very little othercompetition other than mosses and with 50%-100% canopy coverage.169