Orchid Hunting in Northern California and Oregon

Continuing our trip through Washington, Oregon and northern California, we visited a favorite site in California where we photographed both the Few-flowered Rein Orchis, Platanthera sparsiflora, and the California Lady's Slipper, Cypripedium californicum, both of which have a decided preference for wet, serpentine soils.  We found both in abundance and also found a few Phantom Orchids, Cephalanthera austiniae.  At a site in Oregon on our way back we found Epipactis gigantea, the Stream Orchid or Chatterbox.

Platanthera sparsiflora

Few-flowered Rein Orchis

Cypripedium californicum

California Lady's Slipper

 

Cephalanthera austiniae

Phantom Orchid

 

 

Epipactis gigantea

Stream Orchid

 

 

Orchid Hunting in the Cascades

 

We made a long trip through Washington, Oregon and northern California recently, and spent some time orchid hunting.  We looked for and found seven orchids in Washington, Epipactis gigantea, the Stream Orchid or Chatterbox, so named for its love of lake and stream sides and for its hinged lip, which moves in the breeze, and Cypripedium montanum, the Mountain Lady's Slipper.  The Epipactis, though rare in Washington, we found by the thousands in the location we visited.  The Lady's Slipper was also abundant and we found both the very dark form with the purple-stained lip (fma. welchii) and the albino form (fma. praetertinctum).  In the same place we found the Mountain Lady's Slippers we also found Platanthera unalascensis, the Alaskan Piperia.  At a third location we found Platanthera dilatata, the Bog Candle, and at a fifth location Cephalanthera austiniae, the Phantom Orchid and Corallorhiza maculata, the Spotted Coralroot, both red-stemmed and yellow stemmed varieties, along with a few stems of Corallorhiza striata, the striped Coralroot, both the ordinary variety and the smaller-flowered var. vreedlandii.

Epipactis gigantea

Stream Orchid

Cypripedium montanum

Mountain Lady's Slipper

Cypripedium montanum fma. welchii

Mountain Lady's Slipper, purple-marked lip

 

Cypripedium montanum fma. praetertinctum

Mountain Lady's Slipper, albino form

 

 

 

 

Platanthera dilatata var. dilatata

 Bog Candle

 

Platanthera unalascensis
Alaskan Piperia

 

Cephalanthera austiniae
Phantom Orchid

Corallorhiza maculata var. maculata
Spotted Coralroot

Corallorhiza maculata var. maculata fma. flavida

Spotted Coralroot, yellow-stemmed form

 

 

Corallorhiza striata var. striata
Striped Coralroot

and

Corallorhiza striata var. vreelandii

Vreeland's Coralroot

 

Tenth Orchid of the Season and Others

We made a brief trip recently to see one of the most amazing of our native orchids, Cephalanthera austiniae, the Phantom Orchid.  After a failed attempt at a first location we found and photographed it at a second location, our tenth orchid of the season.  We did find it at the first location - it was everywhere - but we only found one plant in bloom.  All the rest were still in bud.

Cephalanthera austiniae

The second location is one we try to avoid, a very dark forest floor with a lot of poison oak.  The day we were there we had not only to contend with poor light and poison oak, but with a stiff breeze.  We managed to get some decent photos, however.  At this location, too, we found a lot of plants and almost all of them were in bloom, but that location is a bit lower and warmer than the first.

Cephalanthera austiniae

 The Phantom Orchid is the only North American species in the genus Cephalanthera and the only species in the genus that is mycoheterotrophic, without chlorophyll or leaves, and depending for nourishment on a soil fungus.  It is bone white and stands out in the forest in which it grows like a phantom.  It is very rare in most of its range but very common in the locations we visited.

Along with the Phantoms we found the Striped Coralroot, Corallorhiza striata, still blooming.  These were nearing the end of their bloom season, but we found some nice examples in both the pinkish and yellowish color forms.  This was at a higher elevation than at home and so the season is later - they are long finished in the areas we visited nearer home.

Corallorhiza striata var. striata

We also found the Western Spotted Coralroot, Corallorhiza maculata var. occidentalis, including the tan-stemmed form, fma. intermedia and the yellow-stemmed form, fma. aurea, the latter just starting to bloom.  Among all these there was one very strange pink-lipped form, very different from anything we've seen before (the lip is usually white).

Corallorhiza maculata var. occidentalis

Corallorhiza maculata var. occidentalis fma. intermedia

Corallorhiza maculata var. occidentalis fma. aurea

Corallorhiza maculata var. occidentalis (pink-lipped form)