The Small Whorled Pogonia

Species name: Small Whorled Pogonia (Isotria medeoloides)

Habitat:A variety of deciduous or mixed deciduous forest habitats

Range:Eastern and midwestern states, and Ontario, Canada. Three main population centers (foothills of New England Appalachians, southern extreme of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and Virginia coastal plain and piedmont) with outlying isolated populations.

This small woodland orchid features a single yellowish-green flower above a whorl of leaves. It occurs in isolated populations, with the largest colonies in New Hampshire and Maine. Although widely distributed, the small whorled pogonia declined due to habitat loss and habitat degradation. In the past, it was also taken by collectors; that threat has lessened, possibly because the species does not survive in cultivation. With Endangered Species Act protection, the small whorled pogonia has rebounded as new populations were discovered and others protected, and in 1994 the plant was reclassified from endangered status to the less imperiled category of threatened.