Cleistesiopsis species

Just to prove that we found both Cleistes species blooming on the same day. Not only that -- they were growing only twenty feet apart!

Today, two of my flickr buddies and I met up in Boiling Spring Lakes in Brunswick County, North Carolina to see what spring orchids we could find. We lucked out with two species that were in tip-top shape. These were a bit early for the Green Swamp area. Usually, they start blooming the first week in June. I'm not complaining, though -- we were quite happy to find so many in such good condition...

Today, two of my flickr buddies and I met up in Boiling Spring Lakes in Brunswick County, North Carolina to see what spring orchids we could find. We lucked out with two species that were in tip-top shape. These were a bit early for the Green Swamp area. Usually, they start blooming the first week in June. I'm not complaining, though -- we were quite happy to find so many in such good condition...

Today, two of my flickr buddies and I met up in Boiling Spring Lakes in Brunswick County, North Carolina to see what spring orchids we could find. We lucked out with two species that were in tip-top shape. These were a bit early for the Green Swamp area. Usually, they start blooming the first week in June. I'm not complaining, though -- we were quite happy to find so many in such good condition...

Today, two of my flickr buddies and I met up in Boiling Spring Lakes in Brunswick County, North Carolina to see what spring orchids we could find. We lucked out with two species that were in tip-top shape. These were a bit early for the Green Swamp area. Usually, they start blooming the first week in June. I'm not complaining, though -- we were quite happy to find so many in such good condition...

Today, two of my flickr buddies and I met up in Boiling Spring Lakes in Brunswick County, North Carolina to see what spring orchids we could find. We lucked out with two species that were in tip-top shape. These were a bit early for the Green Swamp area. Usually, they start blooming the first week in June. I'm not complaining, though -- we were quite happy to find so many in such good condition...

Today, two of my flickr buddies and I met up in Boiling Spring Lakes in Brunswick County, North Carolina to see what spring orchids we could find. We lucked out with two species that were in tip-top shape. These were a bit early for the Green Swamp area. Usually, they start blooming the first week in June. I'm not complaining, though -- we were quite happy to find so many in such good condition...

Today, two of my flickr buddies and I met up in Boiling Spring Lakes in Brunswick County, North Carolina to see what spring orchids we could find. We lucked out with two species that were in tip-top shape. These were a bit early for the Green Swamp area. Usually, they start blooming the first week in June. I'm not complaining, though -- we were quite happy to find so many in such good condition...

On our weekend trip, we saw quite a few of this orchid along the roadsides. The flower is up to two inches long, and is usually some shade of light pink to medium pink. Very rarely will it produce a stem with two flowers...

On our weekend trip, we saw quite a few of this orchid along the roadsides. The flower is up to two inches long, and is usually some shade of light pink to medium pink. Very rarely will it produce a stem with two flowers...

On our weekend trip, we saw quite a few of this orchid along the roadsides. The flower is up to two inches long, and is usually some shade of light pink to medium pink. Very rarely will it produce a stem with two flowers...

On our weekend trip, we saw quite a few of this orchid along the roadsides. The flower is up to two inches long, and is usually some shade of light pink to medium pink. Very rarely will it produce a stem with two flowers...

On our weekend trip, we saw quite a few of this orchid along the roadsides. The flower is up to two inches long, and is usually some shade of light pink to medium pink. Very rarely will it produce a stem with two flowers...

On our weekend trip, we saw quite a few of this orchid along the roadsides. The flower is up to two inches long, and is usually some shade of light pink to medium pink. Very rarely will it produce a stem with two flowers...

On our weekend trip, we saw quite a few of this orchid along the roadsides. The flower is up to two inches long, and is usually some shade of light pink to medium pink. Very rarely will it produce a stem with two flowers...

This orchid usually blooms during the first couple of weeks in May in southeastern North Carolina. I wasn't surprised to find one in bloom on this trip, but I was surprised to find it in such good shape. This species differs in several ways from its larger cousin, the Large Spreading Pogonia. In any case, it is quite lovely and always great to see on a trip to the area...

The second day of my weekend trip to the Atlantic Coastal Plain... These shots represent native orchids found in the Francis Marion National Forest, near Charleston, SC. Some are repeat species that I photographed in the Green Swamp near Wilmington, NC on the previous day. The only differences being the white orchids toward the end of today's post. Although the same species as the orchids found a bit farther north, these were decidedly more rose-pink. A nice addition to the other roadside wildflowers...