The Small Whorled Pogonia (Isotria medeoloides) was unknown in West Virginia until its very recent discovery - in 1996. It is an herbaceous perennial related to the Orchid family. The plant is quite small, growing to only three centimeters (less than one and a half inches) high with a whorl (circle at the same level) of five or six leaves near the top of the stem below the flower. It reappears in spring from underground rootstock, usually just a single stem but sometimes more. The leaves and stem are grayish-green. One greenish-yellow flower (or a pair) grows out of the center of the whorl of leaves in late May to early June in West Virginia. This species rarely flowers and sometimes waits seven to eight years before flowering again.