{{Short description|Western North American species of orchid}} {{Speciesbox | image = Epipactis gigantea.jpg | status = {{TNCStatus}} | status_system = TNC | status_ref = <ref name="NatureServe">{{Cite NatureServe |date=3 October 2025 |id=2.152197 |title=''Epipactis gigantea'' |access-date=9 October 2025}}</ref> | genus = Epipactis | species = gigantea | authority = Douglas | synonyms_ref = <ref name="POWO">{{cite POWO |id=92675-2 |title=''Epipactis gigantea'' Douglas |access-date=9 October 2025}}</ref> | synonyms = {{Collapsible list | {{Species list | Amesia gigantea | | Arthrochilium giganteum | | Cephalanthera kokanica | | Epipactis americana | | Epipactis pringlei | | Helleborine gigantea | | Limodorum giganteum | | Peramium giganteum | | Serapias gigantea | }} }} }}
'''''Epipactis gigantea''''' is a species of orchid known as the '''stream orchid''', '''giant helleborine''', and '''chatterbox'''. This wildflower is native to western North America from British Columbia to central Mexico.<ref name="gwencooper">[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=70166 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]</ref> This is one of the most abundant orchids of the Pacific coast of North America.<ref>[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242101585 Flora of North America, v 26 p 585, ''Epipactis gigantea'' ]</ref>
== Description == ''Epipactis gigantea'' is an erect perennial reaching anywhere from 30 centimeters to one meter in height. Its stems have prominently-veined, wide or narrow lance-shaped leaves 5 to 15 centimeters long and inflorescences of two or three showy orchids near the top. Each flower has three straight sepals which are light brownish or greenish with darker veining, each one to two centimeters long. The two top petals are similar in shape and reddish-brown with purple veins. The lowest petal is cup-shaped with a pointed, tongue-like protuberance and is brighter red-brown and more starkly veined, often with areas of yellow. The fruit is a hanging capsule 2 or 3 centimeters long which contains thousands of tiny seeds. This plant grows in wet areas in a variety of habitats, including riverbanks, hot springs, and meadows at elevations less than 2,600 feet. Unlike some of its relatives, this species is an autotroph. A distinctive race with burgundy colored foliage is known from The Cedars in Sonoma County California, an area of serpentine rock, and it is called forma rubrifolia (P M Brown).
== Taxonomy == ''Epipactis gigantea'' was scientifically described and named by David Douglas in 1839. It is classified in the genus ''Epipactis'' as a part of the family Orchidaceae. It has no accepted subspecies or forms, but has {{table row counter|id=Synonyms}} synonyms.<ref name="POWO" />
{|class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" id="Synonyms" |+ class="nowrap" | Table of Synonyms ! Name ! Year ! Rank ! Notes |- | ''Amesia gigantea'' {{small|(Douglas) A.Nelson & J.F.Macbr.}} | 1913 |data-sort-value=A | species |data-sort-value=A | ≡ hom. |- | ''Arthrochilium giganteum'' {{small|(Douglas) Szlach.}} | 2003 |data-sort-value=A | species |data-sort-value=A | ≡ hom. |- | ''Cephalanthera kokanica'' {{small|Regel ex Nevski}} | 1935 |data-sort-value=A | species |data-sort-value=B | = het., pro syn. |- | ''Epipactis americana'' {{small|Lindl.}} | 1840 |data-sort-value=A | species |data-sort-value=B | = het. |- | ''Epipactis gigantea'' f. ''rubrifolia'' {{small|P.M.Br.}} | 1995 |data-sort-value=F | form |data-sort-value=B | = het. |- | ''Epipactis pringlei'' {{small|Gand.}} | 1919 |data-sort-value=A | species |data-sort-value=B | = het. |- | ''Helleborine gigantea'' {{small|(Douglas) Druce}} | 1909 |data-sort-value=A | species |data-sort-value=A | ≡ hom. |- | ''Limodorum giganteum'' {{small|(Douglas) Kuntze}} | 1891 |data-sort-value=A | species |data-sort-value=A | ≡ hom., nom. illeg. |- | ''Peramium giganteum'' {{small|(Douglas) J.M.Coult.}} | 1894 |data-sort-value=A | species |data-sort-value=A | ≡ hom. |- | ''Serapias gigantea'' {{small|(Douglas) A.A.Eaton}} | 1908 |data-sort-value=A | species |data-sort-value=A | ≡ hom. |- !colspan=4 style="text-align: left;" | Notes: ≡ homotypic synonym; = heterotypic synonym |}
== Cultivation == ''Epipactis gigantea'' is cultivated in the specialty horticulture trade and available as a non-wild collected propagated ornamental plant. A maroon-leaved (forma ''rubrifolia'') cultivar is also grown, called 'Serpentine Night'.
<gallery> File:Epipactis gigantea meadow-clump.jpg|E gigantea clump in moist meadow File:Epipactis gigantea 'Serpentine'.jpg|Cultivar Serpentine Night File:Epipactis gigantea seedheads.jpg|Stream orchid seedheads File:Epipactis gigantea flower closeup.jpg|E gigantea flower closeup </gallery>
== References == {{Reflist}} * C.Michael Hogan, ed. 2010. [http://www.eol.org/pages/1098322 ''Epipactis gigantea'' - Encyclopedia of Life] *[http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?8695,8709,8710 Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Epipactis gigantea'']
== External links == *[http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plants/epipactis-gigantea Las Pilitas Nursery, ''Epipactis gigantea'', Stream Orchid and Giant helleborine] *[http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/forb/epigig/all.html Ecology: ''Epipactis gigantea''] *[http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=photos_index&where-taxon=Epipactis+gigantea ''Epipactis gigantea'' - Photo gallery] *[http://www.wanativeorchids.com/Epipactis%20gigantea/ Washington Native Orchid Society, ''Epipactis gigantea'' or Stream Orchid] *[http://www.cnhp.colostate.edu/download/documents/Spp_assessments/epipactisgigantea.pdf Colorado State University, ''Epipactis gigantea'' Dougl. ex Hook. (stream orchid): A Technical Conservation Assessment] *[http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=EPGI Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas @ Austin, ''Epipactis gigantea'' ] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20120107020629/http://rareplants.co.uk/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=231&P_ID=891 Rare Plants United Kingdom, ''Epipactis gigantea''] *[http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/75462/ Dave's Garden, PlantFiles: Species Orchid, Giant Helleborine, Giant Stream Orchid, Epipactis, ''Epipactis gigantea'' ] *[http://www.swcoloradowildflowers.com/Pink%20Enlarged%20Photo%20Pages/epipactis%20gigantea.htm Southwestern Colorado Wildflowers, ''Epipactis gigantea'' ] *[http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Epipactis%20gigantea E-flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2221912}}
gigantea Category:Orchids of Canada Category:Orchids of Mexico Category:Orchids of the United States Category:Flora of the Western United States Category:Flora of Western Canada Category:Flora of Northwestern Mexico Category:Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Category:Flora of California Category:Flora of the California desert regions Category:Garden plants of North America Category:Plants described in 1839 Category:Flora without expected TNC conservation status