Corallorhiza species

On our last day in Yellowstone National Park, my son Dylan had done some homework the night before, because he wanted to see a Moose. So, he planned our trip to an area that was supposed to show us a Moose, and it also was a wild orchid site. So, he knew he had a good chance of getting us to drive there. Well, we didn't see a Moose, but we did see a whole lot of wildflowers, including orchids.

Five of us (Neil, Jen, Howard, Walter, and I) got together today for an orchid shoot in the Francis Marion National Forest in Berkeley County, SC. I had visited the site off and on for the past four or five years, and always saw Listera australis , but infrequently saw Corallorhiza wisteriana . Today, we hit it big. While Walter, Jen, and I were shooting Listera australis , Neil and Howard looked around to see if they could find the Corallorhiza wisteriana . After about a half hour, Neil came back with a big smile on his face. He had found a large group of them. Neil and Jen had not seen this particular orchid, so I was quite pleased that he had found them on this trip...

Five of us (Neil, Jen, Howard, Walter, and I) got together today for an orchid shoot in the Francis Marion National Forest in Berkeley County, SC. I had visited the site off and on for the past four or five years, and always saw Listera australis , but infrequently saw Corallorhiza wisteriana . Today, we hit it big. While Walter, Jen, and I were shooting Listera australis , Neil and Howard looked around to see if they could find the Corallorhiza wisteriana . After about a half hour, Neil came back with a big smile on his face. He had found a large group of them. Neil and Jen had not seen this particular orchid, so I was quite pleased that he had found them on this trip...

Five of us (Neil, Jen, Howard, Walter, and I) got together today for an orchid shoot in the Francis Marion National Forest in Berkeley County, SC. I had visited the site off and on for the past four or five years, and always saw Listera australis , but infrequently saw Corallorhiza wisteriana . Today, we hit it big. While Walter, Jen, and I were shooting Listera australis , Neil and Howard looked around to see if they could find the Corallorhiza wisteriana . After about a half hour, Neil came back with a big smile on his face. He had found a large group of them. Neil and Jen had not seen this particular orchid, so I was quite pleased that he had found them on this trip...

Five of us (Neil, Jen, Howard, Walter, and I) got together today for an orchid shoot in the Francis Marion National Forest in Berkeley County, SC. I had visited the site off and on for the past four or five years, and always saw Listera australis , but infrequently saw Corallorhiza wisteriana . Today, we hit it big. While Walter, Jen, and I were shooting Listera australis , Neil and Howard looked around to see if they could find the Corallorhiza wisteriana . After about a half hour, Neil came back with a big smile on his face. He had found a large group of them. Neil and Jen had not seen this particular orchid, so I was quite pleased that he had found them on this trip...

Five of us (Neil, Jen, Howard, Walter, and I) got together today for an orchid shoot in the Francis Marion National Forest in Berkeley County, SC. I had visited the site off and on for the past four or five years, and always saw Listera australis , but infrequently saw Corallorhiza wisteriana . Today, we hit it big. While Walter, Jen, and I were shooting Listera australis , Neil and Howard looked around to see if they could find the Corallorhiza wisteriana . After about a half hour, Neil came back with a big smile on his face. He had found a large group of them. Neil and Jen had not seen this particular orchid, so I was quite pleased that he had found them on this trip...

Five of us (Neil, Jen, Howard, Walter, and I) got together today for an orchid shoot in the Francis Marion National Forest in Berkeley County, SC. I had visited the site off and on for the past four or five years, and always saw Listera australis , but infrequently saw Corallorhiza wisteriana . Today, we hit it big. While Walter, Jen, and I were shooting Listera australis , Neil and Howard looked around to see if they could find the Corallorhiza wisteriana . After about a half hour, Neil came back with a big smile on his face. He had found a large group of them. Neil and Jen had not seen this particular orchid, so I was quite pleased that he had found them on this trip...

After having seen images of this orchid from some of my flickr friends, I decided to travel up to Ashmore Heritage Preserve in upstate Greenville County to see if I could re-locate the site for these orchids in the Preserve. I had last photographed them several years ago, and had not seen them at all when I looked for them in this spot last year. This is, by far, the homeliest of our native orchids. These images show it in full bloom. It is one of the cleistogamous or self-pollinating orchids found in the eastern half of the United States. It is fairly common, but hard to see, since it is only 4 to 5 inches tall and not very colorful. The bulges that appear between the flower and the stem are the ovaries which are swollen with seeds. Since it is cleistogamous, it begins to form seeds even before the flowers "bloom"...

After having seen images of this orchid from some of my flickr friends, I decided to travel up to Ashmore Heritage Preserve in upstate Greenville County to see if I could re-locate the site for these orchids in the Preserve. I had last photographed them several years ago, and had not seen them at all when I looked for them in this spot last year. This is, by far, the homeliest of our native orchids. These images show it in full bloom. It is one of the cleistogamous or self-pollinating orchids found in the eastern half of the United States. It is fairly common, but hard to see, since it is only 4 to 5 inches tall and not very colorful. The bulges that appear between the flower and the stem are the ovaries which are swollen with seeds. Since it is cleistogamous, it begins to form seeds even before the flowers "bloom"...

After having seen images of this orchid from some of my flickr friends, I decided to travel up to Ashmore Heritage Preserve in upstate Greenville County to see if I could re-locate the site for these orchids in the Preserve. I had last photographed them several years ago, and had not seen them at all when I looked for them in this spot last year. This is, by far, the homeliest of our native orchids. These images show it in full bloom. It is one of the cleistogamous or self-pollinating orchids found in the eastern half of the United States. It is fairly common, but hard to see, since it is only 4 to 5 inches tall and not very colorful. The bulges that appear between the flower and the stem are the ovaries which are swollen with seeds. Since it is cleistogamous, it begins to form seeds even before the flowers "bloom"...

After having seen images of this orchid from some of my flickr friends, I decided to travel up to Ashmore Heritage Preserve in upstate Greenville County to see if I could re-locate the site for these orchids in the Preserve. I had last photographed them several years ago, and had not seen them at all when I looked for them in this spot last year. This is, by far, the homeliest of our native orchids. These images show it in full bloom. It is one of the cleistogamous or self-pollinating orchids found in the eastern half of the United States. It is fairly common, but hard to see, since it is only 4 to 5 inches tall and not very colorful. The bulges that appear between the flower and the stem are the ovaries which are swollen with seeds. Since it is cleistogamous, it begins to form seeds even before the flowers "bloom"...

After having seen images of this orchid from some of my flickr friends, I decided to travel up to Ashmore Heritage Preserve in upstate Greenville County to see if I could re-locate the site for these orchids in the Preserve. I had last photographed them several years ago, and had not seen them at all when I looked for them in this spot last year. This is, by far, the homeliest of our native orchids. These images show it in full bloom. It is one of the cleistogamous or self-pollinating orchids found in the eastern half of the United States. It is fairly common, but hard to see, since it is only 4 to 5 inches tall and not very colorful. The bulges that appear between the flower and the stem are the ovaries which are swollen with seeds. Since it is cleistogamous, it begins to form seeds even before the flowers "bloom"...

After having seen images of this orchid from some of my flickr friends, I decided to travel up to Ashmore Heritage Preserve in upstate Greenville County to see if I could re-locate the site for these orchids in the Preserve. I had last photographed them several years ago, and had not seen them at all when I looked for them in this spot last year. This is, by far, the homeliest of our native orchids. These images show it in full bloom. It is one of the cleistogamous or self-pollinating orchids found in the eastern half of the United States. It is fairly common, but hard to see, since it is only 4 to 5 inches tall and not very colorful. The bulges that appear between the flower and the stem are the ovaries which are swollen with seeds. Since it is cleistogamous, it begins to form seeds even before the flowers "bloom"...

While searching the ground for the Corallorhiza odontorhiza orchids, I came across several Tipularia discolor stems loaded with seed capsules. It is said by some that this orchid is self-pollinating. Others say that the pollinator is a night-flying moth. In any case, it is always successful in its seed making abilities...

While searching the ground for the Corallorhiza odontorhiza orchids, I came across several Tipularia discolor stems loaded with seed capsules. It is said by some that this orchid is self-pollinating. Others say that the pollinator is a night-flying moth. In any case, it is always successful in its seed making abilities...

Just a few shots of this delicate beauty. These are the first orchids to bloom in our area of the Southeast. To read more about this field trip, check out my blog: www.jfowlerphotography.com/ .

Just a few shots of this delicate beauty. These are the first orchids to bloom in our area of the Southeast. To read more about this field trip, check out my blog: www.jfowlerphotography.com/ .

Just a few shots of this delicate beauty. These are the first orchids to bloom in our area of the Southeast. To read more about this field trip, check out my blog: www.jfowlerphotography.com/ .