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or the American Frog Orchid Coeloglossum viride var. virescens or the American Frog Orchid is a native orchid to the United States including Washington State. This cold growing terrestrial arises from fleshy roots. The stems are smooth throughout. The leaves are egg-shaped to oblong. The flowers have leaf-like bracts that are ascending and are several times longer than flowers. The flowers are green to yellowish-green often suffused with dull red or brown. The sepals are egg-shaped and form a hood over the column. The flowers are fragrant. The lip descends from beneath the hood. The petals are narrower than sepals. C. viride var. virescens likes to grow in mesic to wet forests, grassy slopes, shores, bogs and swamps in the lowland and mountain zones. This orchid is one of the most widespread orchids in the world. The distribution is throughout Alaska to Newfoundland south to Washington, New Mexico, Iowa, and North Carolina. Recent molecular studies in which nuclear ribosomal DNA sequences were analyzed, showed that Coeloglossum genus is closely related to the Dactylorhiza genus. Coeloglossum is quite variable across its range. For example, in Eurasia this orchid is larger with very long spreading floral bracts greatly exceeding the flowers with a mostly green lip. While in Alaska this plant is smaller with smaller floral bracts and a reddish lip. Growing Coeloglossums is simple. They can be grown in the same way as Cypripediums, however easier to grow. The tuber should be planted 1 inch deep with the growing bud pointing upwards. Do not allow the soil to dry out in summer. Coeloglossum don’t actually need lime but they love it. If you see this orchid please get a GPS location and report the sighting to the Washington Native Orchid Society: waorchids@live.com
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