By Angela Pierce
What is that green-and-white striped leaf I see growing in the forest this time of year?
What you are seeing is most likely the leaf of a putty root (Aplectrum hyemale), also known as an Adam and Eve orchid.
It is one of the 35 orchid species found in the state.
Orchids are monocots which are known for having leaves with parallel veins and flowers with three petals and three sepals.
Orchid flowers are unique from other monocots in that the right and left sides of the flower are symmetrical but the upper and lower sections are not.
Typically, the lowermost petal, called the “lip,” is different from the others in size, shape, or color.
The leaf of putty root is pin-striped with dark greenish-blue and silvery-white stripes. It is somewhat wrinkly in texture with strong ribbing, giving it a pleated appearance.
Long ago, people harvested a sticky substance from the root of this plant and used it to repair broken pottery; hence the name “putty root.”
The other name, Adam and Eve orchid, references the tendency for the specialized root structures, known as corms, to grow in pairs.
The scientific name, Aplectrum hyemale, originates from the Greek word plectron, “spur” with the prefix a, “without.” This is in reference to the flowers lacking a spur-like projection.
The Latin adjective hyemalis (often anglicized as hyemal) means “of winter,” referring to the timing of the leaf growth.
Unlike many other plants, putty root braves the cold winter temperatures and sends up a single leaf, usually in November.
This provides the advantage of a higher level of sunlight while the trees have no leaves.
More sunlight allows the putty root to photosynthesize and build up food stores in the form of starch stored in the roots.
These food stores will be used when the flower emerges in mid-May as well as during summer dormancy and new leaf growth the following fall.
Winter is a great time to go out and discover nature! Each season in Missouri brings a new catalogue of natural occurrences just waiting to be observed.
(Angela Pierce is a naturalist at the Cape Girardeau Conservation Center.)
