Colonial; not or scarcely glaucous; stems slender, 2-4 dm; lvs oblong-obovate, 3-5 cm at anthesis, later to 8 cm; peduncle 2-5.5 cm; fls outcrossing, fragrant at first, multicolored, with guide lines; sep projecting forward or somewhat spreading, linear, 3.5-6.5 cm, greenish-brown to purple-brown, more than twice as long as the lateral pet, these 1.5-2.5 cm, yellowish-green, connivent over the column and lip; lip 2-2.5 cm, its lateral lobes purple or strongly purple-veined, the body and the terminal lobe greenish-yellow; 2n=18. Acid soil in woods; s. Me. to Ont. and Mich., s. to n. Fla. and e. Tex. May, June. (Pogonia v.)
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.