Epipactis gigantea is a tall, native North American terrestrial orchid that grows in wet ground along streams, springs and meadows. It is grown in the specialty trade, and it needs consistently moist, cool conditions to thrive.
Family
Orchidaceae (Orchid family)
Grows as
Orchid
Light
Part shade
Water
Keep the soil consistently moist and never let it dry out completely.
Soil
Moist, humus-rich, well-drained-yet-wet soil or a peat-based mix.
Temperature
10–24 °C; tolerates cool winters.
How easy
Moderate
Native range
SW. Canada to N. Mexico
Climate
temperate
About
Epipactis gigantea is a species of orchid known as the stream orchid, giant helleborine, and chatterbox. This wildflower is native to western North America from British Columbia to central Mexico. This is one of the most abundant orchids of the Pacific coast of North America.
How to grow it
Epipactis gigantea is cultivated in the specialty horticulture trade and available as a non-wild collected propagated ornamental plant. A maroon-leaved (forma rubrifolia) cultivar is also grown, called 'Serpentine Night'.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Epipactis gigantea by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.