Discreet orchids

Some orchids are flamboyant, like the Pink Lady’s Slipper or the Purple Fringed orchid, both of which I have shown you before. But here in Maine many orchids are small and/or subtle colored. They nonetheless repay a closer look; those tiny flowers are still seductive to a passing insect.

The Early Coral-root Orchid, Corallorhiza trifida, is an inconspicuous leafless orchid, typically 4-8″ tall, that depends on a close relationship with a fungus from which it gets most of its nutrients. But it does have chlorophyll, and can also make some of its own food via photosynthesis.

Excitingly, for a nature nerd like me, I was recently shown a secluded place where the Small Whorled Pogonia, Isotria medeoloides, grows.

This tiny orchid, only 4 inches high, pushes through the shady upland forest floor at the start of June:

It is classified as rare, so its locations are often kept secret to thwart orchid collectors.

Once fully open, you can see the two side sepals that frame the flower proper:

It cannot easily compete with other vegetation, so it likes a fairly bare forest floor.

Finally, in late summer, in boggy areas one can occasionally find the Yellow Nodding Ladies Tresses, Spiranthes ochroleuca:

or Nodding Ladies Tresses, Spiranthes cernua:

So next time you think of orchids, forget the tropical rain forests and remember the north woods instead.