Gary
Slender Ladies Tresses
Another orchid that blooms in the late summer in the northeast and is related to the nodding ladies tresses is the slender ladies tresses. This has tiny delicate blossoms that form a distinct spiral on a single stem.
Nodding Ladies Tresses
In the late summer and early fall, depending on where you live in the eastern U.S., this orchid blooms in wet meadows, bogs and fens. Nodding ladies tresses sprout through the chaotic growth of wild grasses, rushes and sedges with a spire of white blossoms no more than 12 inches tall. I have observed bumblebees […]
The Unobtrusive Orchid
About thirty years ago, while conducting an environmental program for an elementary class, a strange plant caught my eye as I led the students on a trail through a freshwater wetland area in a state park preserve in New York. The plant was about eight inches tall, purplish brown with a spike of tiny blossoms […]
The Orchid and the Fungus
An orchid that blooms in June of each year is the pink lady slipper. This orchid interacts with a specific soil fungus that enables its seeds to sprout. Unlike most seeds that have a food supply to provide nourishment for sprouting, this orchid’s seeds need the threads of the fungus to attach to the seed […]
Saving Wild Orchids
Out in eastern Long Island, New York, one summer’s day a colleague and I visited a bog surrounded by dunes to determine the health of the habitat. As we approached the area we noticed pinkish/purple flowers growing throughout the bog amongst bulrushes, sedges and wild grasses. At the fen, we discovered the flowers were part […]
Helping an Endangered Orchid
When I worked for state parks in New York on Long Island, one of my responsibilities was to monitor the populations of rare plants. I do not recall what year it was, but it was in the 1990’s when we had a very dry summer. In July of that year, I happened across the crested […]
Wild Orchids Part 1
When you think of orchids, large showy blossoms of various colors seen in plant centers is what comes to mind to many people. But the wild orchids of the northeastern U.S. are smaller and tend to be a single color. Summer in the north is the time of year to find various species of wild […]
