Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Goals and Plans for 2012

 Corallorhiza maculata var. ozettensis

Not much hiking this time of the year and certainly no native orchids to look for, but at least we can plan for next summer and spring and have been doing so.  At this point our goals for 2012 are:

1) To see the five native orchids of Washington State that we have not yet seen.  They are Corallorhiza striata var. vreelandii, Cypripedium parviflorum var. makasin, Liparis loeselii, Platanthera sparsiflora and  Spiranthes diluvalis.  We do not expect to see all these in Washington State, since some of them are rare to non-existent in the state.  One site gets mowed every year and another is on private property and the owner will not allow anyone on the property.  If anyone knows of locations for these in the Northwest, please let me know.

2) To get better habitat pictures of many of the orchids we've already seen.  I worked quite hard on this last summer, but still am not satisfied with many of the pictures.  This will involve revisiting many locations, but we are always eager to do that anyway.

As to plans we have the following places on our agenda already in addition to many other locations:

1) The Siskiyous in Oregon.  We've been meaning to go for several years but have not yet made it there.  We want not only to see the orchids of the area but other wildflowers as well, and the scenery including the Oregon coast.  We may even get across the California border if we have sufficient time.

2) Some new orchid sites in the Canadian Rockies.  We've backpacked in Mount Robson Provincial Park two of the last three years and day-hiked there as well, but we now have information on other native orchid sites in Jasper, Banff, Kootenay and elsewhere.  Since we have a daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter in Edmonton, we usually get up that way in the summer.

These are musts, but there are many other locations in Washington, Idaho, Oregon and British Columbia that we have on our list of places to see.

8 comments:

philtrvia01 said...

Look simple but when it blooms out, you will be amazed for its beauty. and by the way good luck on your hiking i hope to see more pictures of new found orchid.


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Ron said...

Thanks for your visit. Would like to see some of your native orchids.

BlueJay said...

BC is a great place for orchid spotting, great blog by the way!

Ron said...

We've hunted native orchids on Vancouver Island, in lower BC, In Mount Robson PP, and In Jasper and Banff. We go up that way almost every year.

Unknown said...

I found this orchid, Corallorhiza maculata var. ozettensis, when walking my dog near the pool. I hope no one steps on it.

Ron said...

Great find, Susan. I'd really like to know where you found it. It was found first on the Olympic Peninsula in one small area, then on Whidbey Island in several locations, and now it has been reported also from central BC. I am very interested in knowing where else it can be found.

Unknown said...

Hi Ron,
I have some very tall orchid looking flowers in our woods. We live in Maple Falls and I have been having a hard time finding anyone to identify these flowers for me. I would like to be able to send you a photo via email, but I can't seem to figure out how to do that through the blog. My email is gretchenlbaker1@yahoo.com If you have an opportunity and are willing to help me identify the flowers could you please contact my email and I will send you some photos. The flowers started out looking like red aparagus and are now around 21/2 feet tall with small bell like flowers around the top.
Thanks Gretchen

Ron said...

Hi Chris,
I missed your post earlier (we were travelling). What you are describing sounds like a plant called Pine-drops, a rather common woodland plant around here, but not an orchid. I'll email you, though, and you can send pictures if you wish.