The
photo at right shows a close-up of the flowers of broad-lip twayblade as seen
along the Cedar Grove Trail, Malheur National Forest...........July 15, 2003.
Note the long, wedge-shaped lower lips to the flowers with the shallow notch at
the tip.
Broad-lip twayblade is a perennial wildflower from 10-35 cm tall. It consists of a single stem with two opposite, oblong-ovate to suborbicular leaves with parallel leaf venation. The leaves are found near mid-stem and are 3-7 cm long. The tips of the leaves are pointed and the bases are clasping. The stem above the leaves is generally very hairy.
The inflorescence consists of an open, terminal raceme of 5 to 25 flowers. The flowers are pale green to yellowish in color, with a rounded lip having a pair of horn-like teeth at the base. The lip is wedge-sahped, 8-13 mm long and shallowly 2-lobed at the tip (See photo at right.). Individual sepals and petals are one-nerved and about 5 mm long.
Broad-lip twayblade is found in moist, coniferous forests, along streambanks, and in wet meadows. It is found from low elevations to subalpine habitats.
Broad-lip twayblade is found from southern Alaska east to Newfoundland and south to California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Michigan and New York. It is also found in Asia.