Introductory
SPECIES: Epipactis gigantea | Giant Helleborine 



ABBREVIATION : 
EPIGIG

SYNONYMS : 
   Amesia gigantea Nels. & Macbr.
   Helleborine gigantea Druce
   Limodorumgiganteum Kuntze
   Peramium giganteum Coult.
   Serapias gigantea Eat.


SCS PLANT CODE : 
   EPGI


COMMON NAMES : 
   giant helleborine
   stream orchid


TAXONOMY : 
The currently accepted scientific name of giant helloborine is Epipactis
gigantea Dougl. ex Hook.


LIFE FORM : 
Forb

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
No special status

OTHER STATUS : 
USFS Region 1 Status:  MT - sensitive [13]
USFS Region 1 Status:  ID - watch [13]
USFS Region 4 Status:  ID - sensitive [12]
Montana State Status:  threatened [13]
Washington State Status:  sensitive [14]
 
Giant helleborine is rare in British Columbia, rare in Colorado, and
threatened in Canada.  It is globally secure but imperiled in Idaho [12]
and critically imperiled in Montana [11].


COMPILED BY AND DATE : 
Tara Y. Williams, September 1990


LAST REVISED BY AND DATE : 
NO-ENTRY


AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Williams, Tara Y. 1990. Epipactis gigantea. In: Remainder of Citation

DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Epipactis gigantea | Giant Helleborine 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Giant helleborine extends from southern British Columbia south in the
Rocky Mountains to central Mexico.  It is distributed through most of
the western United States, south to Baja California and Texas, and east
to eastern South Dakota [2,6,7,15].  It is the most commonly encountered
orchid of the Pacific Coast [4].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES20  Douglas-fir
   FRES21  Ponderosa pine
   FRES23  Fir - spruce
   FRES28  Western hardwoods
   FRES30  Desert shrub
   FRES34  Chaparral - mountain shrub
   FRES37  Mountain meadows
   FRES38  Plains grasslands
   FRES42  Annual grasslands


STATES : 
     AZ  CA  CO  ID  MT  NM  NV  ND  OR  SD
     TX  UT  WA  WY  BC  MEXICO


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     ARCH  BIBE  CACH  CANY  CARE  CACA
     DEVA  DINO  GLCA  GLAC  GRCA  GUMO
     JOTR  LAME  MEVE  MOCA  NABR  OLYM
     PORE  SAMO  TICA  YOSE


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
    2  Cascade Mountains
    4  Sierra Mountains
    5  Columbia Plateau
    6  Upper Basin and Range
    7  Lower Basin and Range
    8  Northern Rocky Mountains
    9  Middle Rocky Mountains
   11  Southern Rocky Mountains
   12  Colorado Plateau
   13  Rocky Mountain Piedmont
   16  Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY


SAF COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
NO-ENTRY

VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Epipactis gigantea | Giant Helleborine 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
NO-ENTRY


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
The Indians of northern California made a decoction of the fleshy roots
for internal use when they felt "sick all over" [4].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Several stands of giant helleborine have been destroyed by development
in areas where it is rare [2].

BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Epipactis gigantea | Giant Helleborine 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Giant helleborine is a native, perennial autotrophic forb that grows 1
to 3 feet (30-100 cm) tall.  It has short rhizomes and leaves 2 to 8
inches (5-20 cm) long.  It is sparsely pubescent.  Only two to three
flowers appear on the stalk at a time.  The petals are reddish-brown;
the lower one is saclike.  The sepals are green with brownish veins.
The nodding, elliptic capsule contains thousands of tiny seeds.  The
plants will grow in small or large groups, but most commonly form dense
stands. [2,6,7].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Hemicryptophtye


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Giant helleborine reproduces from microscopic, aerially dispersed seeds.
It will also reproduce vegetatively from rhizome shoots [2].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Giant helleborine grows on open, wet sites, often adjacent to mineral
hot springs, and in mossy and shady areas along rivers, streams,
meadows, seeps, and hanging gardens from warm desert shrub to spruce
communities [15].  It grows on calcareous, porous substrates or thin,
partially decomposed, wet organic substrates. It is more common in the
open than in forests [2,15].

Giant helleborine occurs between 2,900 and 4,100 (885-1,250 m) in
Montana [13], 2,570 and 9,000 feet (830-2,905 m) in Utah [15], 5,500 and
8,000 feet (1,675-2,440 m) in Colorado [6], and at 4,000 feet (1,220 m)
in Wyoming [3].  In California it occurs below 7,500 feet (2,290 m) in
almost all plant communities [9].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Obligate Initial Community Species

Giant helleborine can colonize suitable habitats quickly.  It is a
species of open, early successional habitats.  Apparently, it is a poor
competitor later in succession [2].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
In Canada, giant helleborine flowers in from mid-June to mid-August with
the peak occurring in mid-July [2].  It blooms in April and May in
southern California [4].

FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Epipactis gigantea | Giant Helleborine 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Rhizomatous herb, rhizome in soil
   Initial-offsite colonizer (off-site, initial community)

FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Epipactis gigantea | Giant Helleborine 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
NO-ENTRY


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
NO-ENTRY


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY

REFERENCES
SPECIES: Epipactis gigantea | Giant Helleborine 



REFERENCES : 

 .  Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals,
       reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's
       associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO:
       U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p. 
       [434]

 .  Brunton, Daniel F. 1986. Status of the giant helleborine, Epipactis
       gigantea (Orchidaceae), in Canada. Canadian Field-Naturalist. 100(3):
       414-417.  [13206]

 .  Dittberner, Phillip L.; Olson, Michael R. 1983. The plant information
       network (PIN) data base: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Utah, and
       Wyoming. FWS/OBS-83/86. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior,
       Fish and Wildlife Service. 786 p.  [806]

 .  Dale, Nancy. 1986. Flowering plants: The Santa Monica Mountains, coastal
       and chaparral regions of southern California. Santa Barbara, CA: Capra
       Press. In coooperation with: The California Native Plant Society. 239 p.
       [7605]

 .  Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
       1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
       ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
       Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p.  [998]

 .  Harrington, H. D. 1964. Manual of the plants of Colorado. 2d ed.
       Chicago: The Swallow Press Inc. 666 p.  [6851]

 .  Hitchcock, C. Leo; Cronquist, Arthur; Ownbey, Marion. 1969. Vascular
       plants of the Pacific Northwest. Part 1: Vascular cryptograms,
       gymnosperms, and monocotyledons. Seattle, WA: University of Washington
       Press. 914 p.  [1169]

 .  Lesica, Peter. 1984. Rare vascular plants of Glacier National Park,
       Montana. Missoula, MT: University of Montana, Department of Botany. 27
       p.  [12049]

 .  Munz, Philip A. 1973. A California flora and supplement. Berkeley, CA:
       University of California Press. 1905 p.  [6155]

.  Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
       geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p.  [2843]

.  Shelly, J. Stephen, compiler. 1990. Plant species of special concern.
       Helena, MT: Montana Natural Heritage Program. 20 p.  [12960]

.  U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Region.
       1990. Idaho and Wyoming endangered and sensitive plant field guide.
       Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain
       Region. 192 p.  [9055]

.  U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Region. 1988.
       Sensitive plant field guide [Montana]. Missoula, MT.  [12279]

.  Washington Natural Heritage Program. 1990. Endangered, threatened and
       sensitive vascular plants of Washington. Olympia, WA: Washington State
       Department of Natural Resources, Land and Water Conservation. 52 p. 
       [13211]

.  Reinhardt, Elizabeth. 1983. Using height/diameter curves to estimate
       site index in old-growth western larch stands. Res. Note No. 20.
       Missoula, MT: University of Montana, Montana Forest and Conservation
       Experiment Station. 3 p.  [12947]

.  Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern
       Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of
       Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire
       Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 7 p.  [20090]

.  U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982.
       National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names.
       SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p.  [11573]

Related categories for Species: Epipactis gigantea | Giant Helleborine