“I have worked with Greta Garbo in many pictures and each one has been an enjoyable experience. Miss Garbo is an artist and she gives to her work an enthusiasm which communicates itself to the other players. As a woman she is everchanging in her moods and is, therefore, always interesting and charming.”
Finally a wild orchid! Albeit the most common one in our region. Rattlesnake plantains are commonly found in slightly acidic oak-heath forests near mountain ridgelines. This plant is also a wetlands indicator species however it can grow in both moist and dry conditions (like the mossy ridgeline off the Appalachian trail where I found it).
Rattlesnake plantains are named for the variegated foliage which resembles snake skins, the leaves produce a single stalk which can contain around 50 flowers. This orchid typically spreads colonally via rhizome, like all orchids its 'seeds' require a particular fungal relationship to grow and survive.
In the case of this orchid habitat is very particular, in addition to shady conifer/heath/oak forests, the plant enjoys hummus rich soils and the wood of both white oak and tulip poplars. Given all this context it should cue you in on the fact that this plant will not survive transplant so please do not remove it and place it in your garden.
The Rattlesnake Plantain can be found throughout the entirety of the eastern US and parts of Ontario.