Tipularia discolor

This native terrestrial orchid is really hard to see in its native environment. In the winter, it has a single leaf which is green on the top and bright purple on the underneath. In the summer, when the flowers bloom, the leaf has withered away. It is commonly called Crane-fly orchid because of the similarity of its flowers to the crane fly. The bloom scape is about 12-18 inches tall, and the flowers are about 1/2 inch wide.

This native terrestrial orchid is really hard to see in its native environment. In the winter, it has a single leaf which is green on the top and bright purple on the underneath. In the summer, when the flowers bloom, the leaf has withered away. It is commonly called Crane-fly orchid because of the similarity of its flowers to the crane fly. The bloom scape is about 12-18 inches tall, and the flowers are about 1/2 inch wide.

This native terrestrial orchid is really hard to see in its native environment. In the winter, it has a single leaf which is green on the top and bright purple on the underneath. In the summer, when the flowers bloom, the leaf has withered away. It is commonly called Crane-fly orchid because of the similarity of its flowers to the crane fly. The bloom scape is about 12-18 inches tall, and the flowers are about 1/2 inch wide.

This native terrestrial orchid is really hard to see in its native environment. In the winter, it has a single leaf which is green on the top and bright purple on the underneath. In the summer, when the flowers bloom, the leaf has withered away. It is commonly called Crane-fly orchid because of the similarity of its flowers to the crane fly. The bloom scape is about 12-18 inches tall, and the flowers are about 1/2 inch wide.

This native terrestrial orchid is really hard to see in its native environment. In the winter, it has a single leaf which is green on the top and bright purple on the underneath. In the summer, when the flowers bloom, the leaf has withered away. It is commonly called Crane-fly orchid because of the similarity of its flowers to the crane fly. The bloom scape is about 12-18 inches tall, and the flowers are about 1/2 inch wide.

Walter and I made a day trip to a site where we had seen Hexalectris spicata (Crested coralroot orchid) last year. In my opinion, this is one of the prettiest of our native terrestrial orchids. They grow in a beautiful glade on the very top of Stone Mountain in Allegheny County, North Carolina. They were in tip top shape, and I've never seen them as pretty as they were, today. The day started out rather disturbingly with me forgetting my camera bag and Walter finding out (when we got to the top of the mountain after a 2-hour hike in 95 degree temperature) that he had left the image card for his camera at home! Fortunately, I didn't forget my camera which had my 105mm macro lens attached. We ended up sharing my camera and my tripod and a couple of additional lenses that Walter had managed to bring in his camera bag. All turned out very well except........ When we left the park and had driven an hour down the road, Walter discovered that he had lost his cell phone somewhere in the park! No way were we going back to look for a camera in the woods (after another 2-hour hike to the top). "So fair and foul a day I have not seen." (Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 3) Shakespeare When we arrived home, there was a phone message that indicated a woman had found the cell phone somewhere on the trail. All's well that ends well... (The name of another Shakespeare play). ;-))

Whie in the Pisgah National Forest to photograph Three-birds orchids, I found Crane-fly orchid and Rattlesnake Plantain orchid in full bloom. Couldn't pass up the opportunity for additional photography...

Whie in the Pisgah National Forest to photograph Three-birds orchids, I found Crane-fly orchid and Rattlesnake Plantain orchid in full bloom. Couldn't pass up the opportunity for additional photography...

We saw this peculiar orchid at Eva Chandler Heritage Preserve in northern Greenville County, SC. I have never seen one that is missing the reddish brown color in the petals and stem. I've heard of color forms like this, but this one is the first I've seen.

We saw this peculiar orchid at Eva Chandler Heritage Preserve in northern Greenville County, SC. I have never seen one that is missing the reddish brown color in the petals and stem. I've heard of color forms like this, but this one is the first I've seen.

We saw this peculiar orchid at Eva Chandler Heritage Preserve in northern Greenville County, SC. I have never seen one that is missing the reddish brown color in the petals and stem. I've heard of color forms like this, but this one is the first I've seen.

We saw this peculiar orchid at Eva Chandler Heritage Preserve in northern Greenville County, SC. Notice the green color on the left image. I have never seen one that is missing the reddish brown color in the petals and stem. I've heard of color forms like this, but this one is the first I've seen.

Once again, we went back up to Ashmore Heritage Preserve to photograph a large clump of Rattlesnake Plantain Orchids, but once again, the flowers are not yet in full bloom -- maybe next week... Oddly enough, all of the other specimes of that orchid are almost bloomed out and are producing seed. So, I decided that we should go another mile or so up the road to another heritage preserve calle Eva Chandler Heritage Preserve. This is the time of year I'd expect to see the Crane-fly Orchids in bloom. We did see several in bloom, but many, many more with unopened buds. Despite the lime green portion of the flower, the rest of it makes it very hard to see amongst the ferns and other plants in the woods...

Once again, we went back up to Ashmore Heritage Preserve to photograph a large clump of Rattlesnake Plantain Orchids, but once again, the flowers are not yet in full bloom -- maybe next week... Oddly enough, all of the other specimes of that orchid are almost bloomed out and are producing seed. So, I decided that we should go another mile or so up the road to another heritage preserve calle Eva Chandler Heritage Preserve. This is the time of year I'd expect to see the Crane-fly Orchids in bloom. We did see several in bloom, but many, many more with unopened buds. Despite the lime green portion of the flower, the rest of it makes it very hard to see amongst the ferns and other plants in the woods...

This particular orchid was also found in abundance in the heritage preserves in the upstate of South Carolina. It is quite hard to spot, blending in with the leaf litter on the forest floor, but with careful observation, we found many of them scattered just next to the trail...

This morning, I made a trip into the upstate of South Carolina following Persimmon Ridge Road until I arrived at Eva Chandler Heritage Preserve. I knew it was the season for Crane-fly orchids, and I was not disappointed. However, I really struggled with the lighting on this hard-to-photograph orchid as I do every year. The first problem, however, is to locate the flowers. There are no leaves on the plant this time of year, and the color blends in so well with the surrounding vegetation and shadows, that they are extremely hard to spot. Once I found a suitable candidate, I used a piece of black cloth which I spread over my camera bag and placed behind the flowers. I used available light because I figured that even a minor amount of fill flash would burn out the highlights on these small flowers. I guess I'll have to get used to using a dark background for these, because that is something I seldom do...

This morning, I made a trip into the upstate of South Carolina following Persimmon Ridge Road until I arrived at Eva Chandler Heritage Preserve. I knew it was the season for Crane-fly orchids, and I was not disappointed. However, I really struggled with the lighting on this hard-to-photograph orchid as I do every year. The first problem, however, is to locate the flowers. There are no leaves on the plant this time of year, and the color blends in so well with the surrounding vegetation and shadows, that they are extremely hard to spot. Once I found a suitable candidate, I used a piece of black cloth which I spread over my camera bag and placed behind the flowers. I used available light because I figured that even a minor amount of fill flash would burn out the highlights on these small flowers. I guess I'll have to get used to using a dark background for these, because that is something I seldom do...

This morning, I made a trip into the upstate of South Carolina following Persimmon Ridge Road until I arrived at Eva Chandler Heritage Preserve. I knew it was the season for Crane-fly orchids, and I was not disappointed. However, I really struggled with the lighting on this hard-to-photograph orchid as I do every year. The first problem, however, is to locate the flowers. There are no leaves on the plant this time of year, and the color blends in so well with the surrounding vegetation and shadows, that they are extremely hard to spot. Once I found a suitable candidate, I used a piece of black cloth which I spread over my camera bag and placed behind the flowers. I used available light because I figured that even a minor amount of fill flash would burn out the highlights on these small flowers. I guess I'll have to get used to using a dark background for these, because that is something I seldom do...