Helleborine (Bruce Peninsula Orchids)

Helleborine

Epipactis helleborine

Summary ⁴

Epipactis helleborine, the broad-leaved helleborine, is a terrestrial species of orchid. Its nodding flowers vary from greenish pink to purple, and it prefers shaded woodland environments.

Description ⁵

This attractive non-native orchid superficially resembles several native lilies that occur in our region, including Virginia bunchflower (Veratrum virginicum), Appalachian bunchflower (Veratrum parviflorum) and green false hellebore (Veratrum viride). Broadleaf helleborine has irregular, bilaterally symmetrical flowers with 5 petals and all the Veratrum have regular flowers with 6 petals. This is an exotic plant that is becoming increasingly invasive throughout the region, especially in dryish, gravelly soils of forest and woodland edges. It’s been documented in the eastern U.S. for a long time. It occurs throughout the Northeast in most counties from Pennsylvania to Maine, and in scattered locations in the mid-Atlantic and Great Lakes region as well as occasional locations in the central and western states. The state of Wisconsin included this plant in its control manual for ecologically invasive plants in 1997.