page_title: Goodyera pubescens
section_title: Ecology
hierarchical_section_title: Goodyera pubescens / Ecology
caption_attribution_description: English: Goodyera pubescens, and a few leaves of Maianthemum canadense, found growing along a mountain trail in mixed forest in central New Hampshire, August 2011.
context_page_description: Goodyera pubescens, the downy rattlesnake plantain, is one of the most common orchids native to eastern North America. It is found from Florida to Nova Scotia, west to eastern Oklahoma, Minnesota and Ontario.
  Goodyera pubescens is an evergreen terrestrial herb with variegated leaves. The variegation is in the form of a densely reticulated network of veins that are a much lighter green than the rest of the leaf tissue. It is a creeping plant that divides on the ground surface and sends out short stolons. It may be terrestrial or, occasionally, epipetric, growing on rock shelves. It prefers mildly to moderately acidic soils, such as in oak-heath forests.
context_section_description: Compared to other orchid genera, Goodyera is fairly hardy - surviving more readily in colder conditions, being able to utilize a wider variety of nutrients, and thriving in more types of soil under more broad lighting conditions. Goodyera pubescens has a germination rate of over 90% even in very cold climates, which is why it is found in very cold climates such as the northern US and Canada. This species prefers loamy soils or humus, but it will also grow into decaying wood of Liriodendron tulipifera or Quercus alba with a preference towards woody substrates with a high amount of fungal activity. However, the rhizomes G. pubescens can not survive particularly harsh winters in the northern edge of its distribution.
  Goodyera pubescens grows via a rhizome in a colonial pattern, flowering only once a year at maturity of 4–8 years of age. After flowering the root will have 1-3 offshoots which then generates new rosettes, creating its offspring after the parent plant dies. Most G. pubescens individuals do not survive long enough to reach the age of maturity. The mature rosettes flower after being triggered by a dry period in the spring (usually in May) when there is higher than average temperatures. These specific circumstances may not occur in a season and can take several years to occur, explaining the long maturity time. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) have a preference towards eating the leaves, rosettes, and inflorescences. As deer populations have increased over the last several decades, the number of rosettes per plant has increased to counter the number that get consumed by deer.   
caption: Goodyera pubescens along a mountain trail in central New Hampshire.
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