Just a few shots of some US native terrestrials

[kentuckiense]

In case anyone hadn't seen them:

Liparis liliifolia
I was so thrilled when I went to the site and saw a sunbeam illuminating this plant and its jewel flowers.

Malaxis unifolia
Very, very small and difficult to spot.

Corallorhiza trifida var. verna
One of the rarest orchids of the southern Appalachians. It can only be found in a handful of sites.

Listeria australis
I was out hunting for a local colony of Cypripedium acaule f. album when I found this. I was inspecting an acaule bloom and looked down and saw it. Absolutely tiny. Probably about 3-4 inches tall.

Galearis spectabilis
Right after I took this shot a torrential downpoor began.

Isotria verticillata
I found hundreds and hundreds of individuals, but no blooms. I gave up. As I was walking out, I spotted this single flowering individual.

That's it for now. I'm checking out two more species this week, so hopefully photos will follow. Feel free to request full resolution shots!

 

[gore42]

Zach, those are some awesome photos! I know very little about native US orchids, only a bit about cyps I love seeing other orchids... we have about 20 species here in Colorado, but I've never gone out looking for them. Maybe that will be a good summer project for me, if it's not too late in the season already

- Matt Gore

 

[Gideon]

Very nice. Thanks for sharing

 

[kentuckiense]

Zach, those are some awesome photos! I know very little about native US orchids, only a bit about cyps I love seeing other orchids... we have about 20 species here in Colorado, but I've never gone out looking for them. Maybe that will be a good summer project for me, if it's not too late in the season already

- Matt Gore

Sounds great! Definitely not too late. I'd be very interested in seeing shots of western US terrestrials! (hint hint!) I'm not exactly sure of the flora out your way, but I'd have to assume you have Platanthera and Spiranthes, both of which should be gearing up over the next several months. Also, I have some shots posted in the Cyp forum should you be interested.

 

[SlipperFan]

Very, very small and difficult to spot. ...
I'm checking out two more species this week, so hopefully photos will follow. Feel

You sure have a good eye for spotting these little plants!

 

[likespaphs]

dude...thanks for the groovy shots!

 

[kentuckiense]

The darn Goodyera pubescens is taking forever to spike and mature its buds! There are sooo many around but none are blooming just yet.

 

[rad]

i am so very impressed with your photos and your apparent ability to spot native orchids.

are your activities organized by some research project or other group? i would like to know more about your purpose.

i would love to do the same in my area (colorado). what would your advice be to someone who has never been out searching for native species?

 

[kentuckiense]

i am so very impressed with your photos and your apparent ability to spot native orchids.

are your activities organized by some research project or other group? i would like to know more about your purpose.

i would love to do the same in my area (colorado). what would your advice be to someone who has never been out searching for native species?

I'm just a college student that likes native orchids, really. I've found out about sites from a variety of sources. The grad student I work with (he posts here as cdub) has ties to a local native plant society, so I hear about a few species from him and we go check them out. I've talked to botanists, national forest district rangers, and people that run a native plant rescue operation. There are really so many ways. However, nothing will make up for time spent in the field. While I know what I'm looking for most of the time, sometimes you just have to go out and look around without any specific species goal. Check the interesting places... Wet fields, seepage areas, wet woods, etc.

I've found that having a good text to reference is very, very helpful. For me, it's been 'Native Orchids of the Southern Appalachians' by Stanley L. Bentey.

From my experience, native orchids are a lot more common than what people think. I've found that it's almost difficult to enter the woods around here and NOT find Cypripedium acaule, Goodyera pubescens, and Tipularia discolor. There are a lot of species with a lot of very different habitats. Good luck, and it is definitely not too late to get started this season!

 

[Rick]

You are definitely in a hot spot there Kentuckyensis:clap: :clap:

There are some nice woods out by me, but generally not acidic enough for some of the species. There are small numbers of pubescens, but no acule here. Also the Goodyeara will probably not be in full bloom until August in our area.

Do you have a closeup of the Isotria bloom?

 

[kentuckiense]

This is about as close as I could get:

 

[Rick]

Thanks. Very cool:wink:

 

[kentuckiense]

Thanks. Very cool:wink:

I think that particular bloom was on its way out of town... The sepals are usually a good bit more open.

 

[SlipperFan]

Too cool!

 

[Jmoney]

very nice!

 

[rad]

thanks for the advice. i am more confident now about my ability to find these things in their native habitats.