New blog entry - Cranefly Orchid (Tipularia discolor)

[prem]

I have updated the Florida Native Orchid Blog with an entry covering a common, but interesting, native woodland orchid. It is quite widepsread, growing from Michigan all the way down to just north of Ocala, Florida. I remember when I first discovered these growing near a stream that I often hiked to from my home as a teenager...I had lost my footing and slid about five or six feet down an embankment, my arms flailing wildly, trying to grab onto surrounding vegetation to break my slide. When I finally splashed into the stream (did I mention that this was wintertime?), I looked in my hand at a leaf that I happened to grab on the way down. It had that distinctive green topside with a deep purple underside that I had read about in Luer in the previous weeks. Scouting around, it turned out to be pretty common in this area. The next summer, I managed to find a few plants in flower. I visited this area often for the next several decades until moving to Orlando from Tallahassee, Florida.

To see more photos and find out more about this species:

VISIT THE FLORIDA NATIVE ORCHID BLOG

---Prem

 

[SlipperFan]

Happy accident. I hope you didn't hurt yourself, though.

 

[NYEric]

I especially like the lore of this plant about the cranefly's eyes stuck to the plant!

 

[JeanLux]

Cool story and interesting plant / blooms!!! Jean

 

[biothanasis]

Very nice!!!! Thank you for sharing with us!!

 

[prem]

I've been interested in orchids since I was 13-14. I became interested in native orchids around 14-15. So, that gives me just over a quarter century being a native orchid enthusiast.

The fact that we had woods surrounding our neighborhood helped foster this interest...I found eight species growing literally walking distance from my house--Corallorhiza wisteriana, Spiranthes praecox, Spiranthes vernalis, Spiranthes sylvatica, Spiranthes tuberosa, Tipularia discolor, Listera australis, and Cleistes bifaria.

Expand that to a short drive, and we doubled that, adding eight more species--Pogonia ophioglossoides, Platanthera chapmanii, Platanthera flava, Platanthera ciliaris, Calopogon tuberosus, Calopogon pallidus, Calopogon barbatus, and Epidendrum magnoliae.

Expand that to an hour drive and you would add six more species--Platanthera cristata , Platanthera integra, Platanthera nivea, Spiranthes odorata, Spiranthes ovalis, and Ponthieva racemosa. Oddly enough, while I had seen plants of this last species for years, I had never seen one in bloom in the wild until three years ago.

This made for many hours of walking and/or driving, studying the wealth of native orchid species in our area.

---Prem

 

[NYEric]

You are very fortunate to live in an area of such natural wealth. I hope developement does not destroy these natives' habitats.

 

[prem]

thankfully, most of these were on protected lands - one a state forest, the other a national forest.

---Prem