Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Asparagales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Neottia smallii
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Listera from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Listera smallii
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26 (2002)
Listera smallii
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 049-04-001:
Listera smallii FAMILY Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ophrys smallii
COMMON NAME:
Kidneyleaf Twayblade, Appalachian Twayblade, Small's Twayblade
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_opsm_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm250423_2563
April SC
)
JK Marlow jkm250423_2580
April SC
When found, it's nearly always beneath Rhododendron maximum, per Weakley's Flora (2025).
)
JK Marlow jkm250423_2583
April SC
)
Jim Fowler jaf_nlistera_smallii_2
May Transylvania County NC
Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District
Lip usually cleft about one-third its length, the two lobes oblong, with rounded apices, per Weakley's Flora (2023).
)
JK Marlow jkm230523_3292
May SC
[Ant on adjacent plant provides some idea of scale.] Stems ± glandular-pubescent above, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm230523_3297
May SC
Leaves in the shape of a kidney, hence the name Kidney-leaved Twayblade, per Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm230523_3300
May SC
)
JK Marlow jkm230523_3306
May SC
Lip broadens into 2 rounded flat lobes with a tiny tooth between the lobes, per Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005).
)
Jim Fowler jaf_nlistera_smallii_3
June Union County GA
Chattahoochee National Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm0508b_13
August Transylvania County NC
Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Neottia smallii
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Listera smallii
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26
Listera smallii
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 049-04-001:
Listera smallii
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ophrys smallii
2001
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Shaded swamps, wet slopes, nearly always beneath Rhododendron maximum, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Uncommon in NC Mountains, rare in GA & SC
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
FLOWER:
Summer
Yellowish/ Greenish
Bilaterally symmetrical
3 sepals, two lateral and one dorsal
3 petals, the two lateral similar and a third (the lip) enlarged
stamens and pistil fused together into a column
Inferior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p201
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p454
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p178
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p050
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p402
- Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005) p108
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p398
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p457
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p025
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".