Flower:

A slender, spike-like raceme up to 3½ inches (9 cm) long of 2 to 30+ tiny green to greenish yellow flowers, evenly spaced at the top of the stem. The 3 sepals are each less than 1/8 inch (to 2.5 mm) long, elliptical to egg-shaped, pointed at the tip, 2 nearly erect at the top of the flower and 1 hanging straight down. The 3 petals are generally egg-shaped and about half the size of the sepals; the lip (at the top) typically has darker green veins and an abrupt point at the tip, the 2 lateral petals curve back behind the flower.

Leaves and stems:

2 to 5 leaves surround a thickened, bulb-like growth (pseudobulb) at the base of the stem. Leaves are 1/8 to 1 3/8 inch long (3 to 35 mm), up to ~½ inch (1 to 15 mm) wide, generally elliptical or widest above the middle, sheathing the stem. Stems are smooth and mostly erect.

Fruit:

Fruit is an elliptic, ascending capsule about 4 mm (1/6 inch) long.

Asexual reproduction also occurs, by way of propagules (gemmae) that sometimes form on leaf tips and eventually drop off, starting new plants.

Notes:

Bog Adder's-mouth, formerly Malaxis paludosa, is considered to be one of the rarest orchids in North America, if not the rarest. According to the DNR, it was unknown in North America until it was discovered in Alaska in 1895 and wasn't known to be in the lower 48 states until it was found in Otter Tail County in 1904. Minnesota is still the only US state south of Canada where it is known to exist and was listed as an Endangered Species in 1984. Under the best conditions it is extremely difficult to spot; the small leaves are often hidden under the moss, leaving just the slender, green spike poking a few inches into the air.