The Photo Quest Continues...

It was my good fortune this past summer to add two additional native orchid species to my list of Indiana native orchids photographed in situ. Albeit these two new species are now considered to be extirpated from the state. Having photographed all of Indiana's orchid taxa with known populations in the state as described in Michael Homoya's Orchids of Indiana, I have had to travel to adjacent states to photograph those six species that can no longer be found here.

Platanthera leucophaea, eastern prairie fringed-orchid, is federally listed as threatened or endangered wherever it occurs today, but it was once quite abundant throughout the midwestern prairie region. Although by the time the early Indiana botanists were active the species had succumbed to the plow in its prairie habitat, and the survivors were found only in bogs and other areas too wet to plow. A few populations can still be found in the surrounding states of Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio. And one small population still exists in Indiana, discovered less than 10 years ago, after an absence of more than 50 years. Its location is a closely guarded secret, and rightfully so. And so, for all intents and purposes, P. leucophaea is extirpated with respect to its accessibility. But with the knowledge that this species, missing for that great length of time, then rediscovered--gives hope that any of the other five extirpated species might also be found once again.

A. L. Gibson, a young and very gifted botanist, blogger and photographer from Ohio, generously shared a site near Dayton where this species literally grows along the roadsides just outside the mowed area created by the highway department. In a wet sedge meadow beyond the fenced roadside Andrew found more than 200 flowering plants the year before. When I received Andrew's call this past June that the orchids were in bloom I was on my way to photograph Pogonia ophioglossoides, adder's mouth orchid, at Miller Woods with Dan, Dan, the Orchid Man, McDowell. It was the second week in June and these small pink orchids were blooming profusely in the interdunal pannes behind the foredunes along Lake Michigan's shoreline. The adder's mouth orchid, or rose pogonia is quite a striking orchid, but my mind was on the trip the following day to Ohio for a new orchid species.

Nila and I arrived at the site near Dayton in late afternoon the following day and met Andrew a few minutes later. As we started walking along the road from the parking area we found the first plant less than 300 hundred feet away, and only 15 feet from the road. It was a beauty, in perfect bloom, and stood more than three feet tall. It had escaped the highway department mower by only a few feet. The remaining orchids lay within a barbed wire fence out of harm's way, or so we thought. There were fewer plants this year than the prior year perhaps due to the lack of rainfall. We counted 35 orchids within a small area, then commenced to photograph them in the harsh glare of the afternoon sun, not the ideal lighting for wildflower photography because of the deep shadows that are produced. We decided to stay overnight and return the following morning to photograph them in the early morning light. The results were much better the following day. Dew had formed during the night and the flowers appeared much fresher.

A few days after returning home I received an email from Andrew. He had just visited the site and was devastated to find that many of the orchids were missing, clipped off near the ground. Deer tend to eat flowers only, and don't bother with the stems, so we couldn't logically blame them. But, a wildflower group had visited the site over the weekend. Makes you wonder.

Platanthera dilatata, tall white bog-orchid, was one of the rarest of Indiana's orchids. It's southernmost distribution barely extended into northern Indiana and was known from St. Joseph county only, in an area known as "Six Mile Swamp" near the headwaters of the Kankakee River. Charles Deam reported in 1946 that "This bog and springy area is now being drained". And indeed, no bog orchids were reported in the years that followed, But, in 1984 a small population was rediscovered by a jubilant group of botanists in a remnant of the swamp now known as Kankakee Fen. And they were still there as recently as 1989 when they were beautifully photographed by Lee Casebere. For the most part this small 13 acre fen has been drained today, and in all probability this species has been extirpated from the state. (Homoya 1993)

While planning a trip to the Pacific Northwest this summer I was delighted to learn that Platanthera dilatata could easily be seen along the road in Olympic National Park. It is found growing in the wet seeps where the cool water continuously flows through its root system. We kept our eyes on the wet areas along the uphill side of the road as we slowly drove up towards Hurricane Ridge in the third week in July--and before long, at about mile marker 9 we spotted them.

There are three varieties of Platanthera dilatata, and all three have been found along this road. Indiana plants belong to variety dilatata, tall white bog orchid, with a spur equal to the length of the lip. Variety albiflora, bog candles, has a spur shorter than the lip, and the spur of var. leucostachys, Sierra rein orchid, is noticeably longer than the lip. I certainly didn't feel competent to distinguish between the three varieties in the field. I decided to photograph all of the 13 or so plants that we could find, then closely study the spurs and make size comparisons when the photos were transferred to my computer monitor and enlarged 4X or even 16X. (Brown 2010)

A few weeks later after returning home I was able to convince myself that at least one of the plants I photographed did indeed possess spurs the length of, or slightly shorter than the lip--thus fulfilling my goal of adding another orchid to my Indiana list.

I haven't given up hope of finding P. dilatata in Indiana. I may just venture over to Kankakee Fen in June. What do I have to lose?

                          Note the distinctive dilated lip of this species.

                      The spurs of this plant seem to be the same length 
                 as the lips, though it's somewhat difficult to accurately
                                compare the length of curved objects.
                             
Homoya, Michael A., Orchids of Indiana, 1993, Indiana Academy of Science.

Brown, Paul Martin, Woodland and Bog Rein Orchids, A Guide to Native Platanthera Species of the Continental United States and Canada, 2010, University of Iowa Press

Purple Fringed Orchid, Habenaria psycodes

Rare and local, this remarkable plant can still be found in quality swamp forests and open, wet meadows. It is now called Platanthera psycodes. If you have never looked into the intriguing mechanisms orchids use for pollination, you are in for a treat. Two excellent books for midwestern orchids are, "Orchids of the Western Great Lakes Region" by Frederick Case, and "Orchids of Indiana," by Michael Homoya, with stunning photos by Lee Casebere.

It's A Purple Platanthera Party...

... and you're all invited!

On Thursday morning, on a tip from Derek Nimetz of Indiana Department of Natural Resources - Division of Nature Preserves, Tony and I swung by a site in Lake County, Indiana to find Platanthera psycodes, Small Purple Fringed-Orchid, in bloom. We certainly were not disappointed!


Then, on Saturday afternoon at the Goose Pond Biodiversity Survey in Greene County, Indiana, on a tip from Kirk Roth, I had the opportunity to see the other purple Platanthera in Indiana, Platanthera peramoena, Purple Fringeless-Orchid. (For more information on the results of the Goose Pond Biodiversity Survey, visit my blog entry at Through Handlens and Binoculars.)


It is difficult to argue the attractiveness of either of these purple beauties. Although both are found in Indiana, Platanthera psycodes is found primarily in the northern tier of counties, whereas Platanthera peramoena primarily inhabits counties in the southern half of the state. The habitat in which these two similar looking species grow is also quite different. As Keith pointed out in his post about a year ago, P. psycodes is found in forested seep wetlands, along springy streams, in wet prairies, and in bogs; in Indiana, it nearly always is associated with groundwater-fed wetlands. Conversely, P. peramoena grows most commonly in floodplains and uplands, though it can sometimes be found along ditches, ponds, or lakes. When found in forested areas, as it sometimes is, the plants are spindly and the flowers are a paler color. However, it is often found looking very healthy in open areas that have resulted from disturbance.

These two purple Platanthera are sometimes confused for one another, but if habitat and location weren't enough, taking a close look at the flowers can quickly provide a correct identification.


The photograph above shows the flower of Small Purple Fringed-Orchid; by looking at the lip, you can see where it gets its name. In addition, psycodes means "butterfly," apparently a reference to the shape of the flowers.


The photograph above shows the flower of Purple Fringeless-Orchid. It kind of looks like some loving Saturday morning cartoon character, doesn't it? Although the lip can be erose in this species, it is not fringed as in Platanthera psycodes. Coincidentally, peramoena means "very loving," referring to the beautiful inflorescense.

I hope you've enjoyed this brief Purple Platanthera Party. If you haven't had enough, get out there and find them for yourself! Photographs do not do justice to the elegance of these species.


Reference:
Homoya, M. (1993). Orchids of Indiana. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana Academy of Science.

Platanthera ciliaris

To continue with the Platanthera theme, I had a real treat on Saturday to get to see Orange Fringed Orchid blooming in southern Jasper County at Fisher Oak Savanna. This is a recently discovered population. There were at least nine flowers growing in a forested wetland. It felt special to get to see them blooming.

Purple Fringed Orchid!

This tall and stately orchid is occasional in high-quality swamp forests behind the Indiana Dunes. It tends to grow in wet, mucky ground where Skunk Cabbage and Marsh Marigold put on a show earlier. It is also found in open, wet meadows. Populations fluctuate from year to year, but if you go to a known spot and search, it is sometimes possible to find a few.

Habenaria/Platanthera psycodes (Purple Fringed Orchid)

Platanthera lacera

Yesterday, on my property in North Liberty, St. Joseph County, Indiana, I found a single plant of Platanthera lacera in bloom.


For more information on this completely unexpected find, click here.

Platanthera in LaPorte County, Indiana

While in a woods in Northern LaPorte County, Indiana yesterday, I found three different orchids in the genus Platanthera (aka Habenaria). The first is Platanthera clavellata. There were two plants in this colony, growing in mesophytic swamp forest under an overstory of Acer rubrum, Betula papyrifera, and Fagus grandifolia. Sassafras albidum and Quercus rubra seedlings were in the understory, with of Maianthemum canadense, Lycopodium complanatum v. flabelliforme, Gaultheria procumbens, and Rubus hispidus.



The second and third species were vegetative, and I'm not sure which species they are. Any help would be appreciated.

The second species was found in swamp forest under an overstory of Acer rubrum, Fraxinus pennsylvanica v. subintegerrima, and Ulmus americana. Understory associates included Quercus palustris, Lindera benzoin, Glyceria septentrionalis, Glyceria striata, Carex projecta, Carex intumescens, Carex sp. (maybe C. crinita - it did not have an inflorescence), Impatiens capensis, Pilea pumila, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Iris virginica v. shrevei, Sium suave, Onoclea sensibilis, and Boehmeria cylindrica. There were 4 plants at this location, and one additional plant within 15 feet. Keith Board and I have seen this plant here before, and our guesses are either P. psycodes or P. flava v. herbiola.



The third species was found along the edge of an excavated wet sand flat in successional forest. The overstory was comprised of Nyssa sylvatica and Acer rubrum, while the understory included Quercus rubra, Spiraea tomentosa v. rosea, Linum striatum, Panicum sp., Bartonia virginica, Vernonia sp., Lycopus rubellus, and Apios americana. There are several scattered plants along this edge. Keith and I have seen this plant here before as well, and our guess has always been P. lacera.



Scott.

Platanthera leucophaea

I'll take a stab at this game. This is a photo of Platanthera leucophaea, the eastern prairie fringed orchid, one of the rarest plants in the eastern United States, an unusual feat for a formerly widespread species. In Michigan, this species was historically common on lakeplain prairies along Saginaw Bay and farther south on Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair, and associated drainages. Eastern prairie fringed orchid was also formerly widespread, if local, in the interior counties of southern Lower Michigan, where it occurred in sphagnum bogs developed on carbonate-rich lakes and floating sedge peat mats. Alas, the lakeplain prairies fell to the plow in the early 1900s, and many of the inland populations of this species were destroyed by natural or anthropogenic disturbances, primarily shrub encroachment and hydrologic alteration. Today, eastern prairie fringed orchid hangs on in generally low numbers in ditches and habitat fragments that barely resemble original prairie. The above photo was taken at a site in Huron County, one of the very few intact lakeplain prairies contiguous with Lake Huron. This is important, because orchid populations move with lake levels, seeding lakeward in low water years and landward in high water years. The past 10-15 years have brought on rapid expansion of the non-native halotype of Phragmites australis (common reed) in areas that would have historically been colonized by prairie species during low water years. Landward, shrub encroachment limits the availability of bare, moist substrate the orchid requires. If this species is to survive in Michigan, considerable and persistent restoration and management effort will need to take place. Isn't she pretty?