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Twayblade

Neottia

Also called Twayblades

Twayblade
Photo: Bernd Haynold, CC BY 2.5

Neottia is a genus of small terrestrial orchids, including the former genus Listera (twayblades), found across temperate and arctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. Most are wild woodland plants rather than commonly grown garden or houseplants, and some lack chlorophyll and depend on fungi for food.

Family
Orchidaceae (Orchid family)
Grows as
Orchid
Light
Part shade, Shade
Water
Keep the soil consistently moist but never waterlogged, using rainwater or soft water where possible.
Soil
Cool, humus-rich, leafy woodland soil that stays moist and well drained.
Temperature
Cool to moderate; these are hardy plants that tolerate cold winters, suited to temperate and subarctic climates.
How easy
Hard

About

Neottia is a genus of orchids. The genus now includes the former genus Listera, commonly known as twayblades, referring to the single pair of opposite leaves at the base of the flowering stem. The genus is native to temperate, subarctic and arctic regions across most of Europe, northern Asia (Siberia, China, the Himalayas, Central Asia, etc), and North America, with a few species extending into subtropical regions in the Mediterranean, Indochina, the southeastern United States, etc.

Neottia produces a racemose inflorescences with flowers in shades of green or dull pink through to maroon and purple. The lip of each flower is prominently forked or two-lobed. Some species (those which were previously the only members of the genus Neottia in the strict sense, such as the bird's-nest orchid, Neottia nidus-avis) are completely without chlorophyll and have leaves which are reduced to scales.

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Neottia 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.

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