Friday, May 31, 2019

Native Orchid Display


At the annual show of the Spokane Orchid Society to which we belong, I made and set up a display illustrating Washington's native orchids.  The display included photos, information, cut-out models of orchids and handouts.  The display won several ribbons and an Educational Excellent Award from the American Orchid Society.  These are the photos and information included in the display.

The three Orchid-gami, produced by the North American Orchid Conservation Center were:

Eastern Fairy Slipper


 Striped Coralroot


 Chatterbox (Epipactic gigantea)


The information on the display with the photos included
(top to bottom, left to right):

Chatterbox Orchid
lip "chatters" in the breeze


Washington’s only non-native orchid
Broad-leaved Helleborine
this orchid is a European native
which has established itself across North America


Washington’s most common orchid
Giant Rattlesnake Orchid



Washington’s most popular orchid
Fairy Slipper




Fairy Slipper Facts

Washington has two varieties of the Fairy Slipper
Eastern Fairy Slipper
distinguished by a yellow “beard”
and found across North America
and
Western Fairy Slipper
distinguished by a white “beard”
and found only west of the Rockies

where the range of these two varieties overlaps
a hybrid of the two can be found
Kostiuk’s Hybrid Fairy Slipper
distinguished by a finely spotted lip



Washington's rarest orchid
Chamiso's Orchid


Washington's smallest orchid
Heart-leaved Twayblade


Washington's three Lady's Slippers

Northern Yellow Lady's Slipper



Brownie or Clustered Lady's Slipper


Mountain Lady's Slipper



Orchid Facts

orchids are found on every continent except Antarctica
there are over 27,000 orchid species world-wide
many tropical orchids are ephiphytic, growing in trees
most North American orchids are terrestrial
all of Washington’s orchids are terrestrial
orchids have a modified third petal called a labellum
orchids have a fused male and female column
orchids have waxy masses of pollen called pollinia



Bog Candle
this is Washington's most fragrant orchid



 
Washington’s Weirdest Orchids

Washington has four Coralroot species
and the Phantom Orchid

----------

these orchids have little or no chlorophyll
and are leafless or nearly so

----------

they are mycoheterotrophic
getting nutrients from decaying soil materials
through a symbiotic relationship with a fungus
----------

they can often be found on dark forest floors
where there is little light

Phantom Orchid


Spotted Coralroot


Striped Coralroot


Early Coralroot



Western Coralroot




NATIVE ORCHIDS OF WASHINGTON STATE

the state of Washington has 33 orchid species


Fairy Slipper (April and May) Calypso bulbosa
Spotted Coralroot (April and May) Corallorhiza maculata
Brownie or Clustered Lady’s Slipper (April to June) Cypripedium fasciculatum - rare
Striped Coralroot (May and June) Corallorhiza striata
Western or Merten’s Coralroot (May and June) Corallorhiza mertensiana
Early or Yellow Coralroot (May and June) Corallorhiza trifida
Northern Yellow Lady’s Slipper (May and June) Cypripedium parviflorum – rare in Washington
Mountain Lady’s Slipper (May through July) Cypripedium montanum
Heart-leaved Twayblade (May through July) Neottia cordata
Phantom Orchid (June and July) Cephalanthera austiniae
Stream Orchid or Chatterbox (June and July) Epipactis gigantea
Frog Orchid or Long-bracted Green Orchid (June and July) Dactylorhiza viridis rare in Washington
Western Ladies’ Tresses (June and July) Spiranthes porrifolia – rare in Washington
Northern Twayblade (June and July) Neottia borealis – rare in Washington
Northwestern Twayblade (June and July) Neottia banksiana
Blunt-leaved Rein Orchid (June and July) Platanthera obtusata – rare in Washington
Northern Green Bog Orchid (June and July) Platanthera aquilonis
Tall Green Bog Orchid (June and July) Platanthera huronensis
Giant Rattlesnake Orchid (June through August) Goodyera oblongifolia
White Bog Orchid or Bog Candle (June through August) Platanthera dilatata
Alaskan Piperia (June through August) Platanthera unalascensis
Chamisso’s Orchid (July) Platanthera chorisiana – rare
Sparse-flowered Bog Orchid (July) Platanthera sparsiflora – questionable in Washington
Slender Bog Orchid (July and August) Platanthera stricta
Elegant Piperia (July and August) Platanthera elegans
Flat-spurred Piperia (July and August) Platanthera transversa
Long-spurred Piperia (July and August) Platanthera elongata
White-flowered Piperia (July and August) Platanthera ephemerantha
Round-leaved Rein Orchid (July and August) Platanthera orbiculata – rare in Washington
Broad-leaved Twayblade (July and August) Neottia convallarioides
Hooded Ladies’ Tresses (July and August) Spiranthes romanzoffiana
Ute Ladies’ Tresses (August) Spiranthes diluvialis – rare in Washington
Broad-leaved Helleborine (August) Epipactis helleborine not a native


Washington also has three known natural orchid hybrids

Kostiuk’s Hybrid Fairy Slipper (May) Calypso bulbosa x kostiukiae - rare
Columbia Hybrid Lady’s Slipper (May and June) Cypripedium x columbianum
Estes Hybrid Rein Orchid (June and July) Platanthera x estesii


Note: this list does not include varieties and subspecies.

 ********

Do’s and Dont’s

1. Do watch for native orchids.
You may find something unusual or very rare.
2. Do ask.
If you can’t identify the orchids you find., there is always someone eager to help.
3. Do take photos.
Photos help in identification and in saying “look what I found!”


1. Don’t pick.
Picking the flowers often destroys the plant.
Picking or digging wildflowers is illegal in most places.
2. Don’t dig.
Most native orchids cannot be grown in a garden due to their association with a fungus.
2. Don’t trample.
When observing or photographing be careful not to trample the orchids or other plants.
3. Don’t tell.
Especially if you’ve found something rare, tell only those you trust where you found it.



Ron Hanko
http://nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com




Organizations:

1. Washington Native Orchid Society
sponsors 3-4 orchid-hunting excursions every spring and summer, mostly in western Washington
further information can be found at: http://www.wanativeorchids.org

2. Washington Native Plant Society
has different chapters around the state
sponsors hikes and nature walks in different areas
has a much broader interest than just native orchids
further information can be found at: https://www.wnps.org

3. Goorchids
sponsored by the North American Orchid Conservation Center
has information for identifying all North American orchids
produces the orchid-gami that are part of this display
further information can be found at: https://goorchids.northamericanorchidcenter.org


4 comments:

Thelma said...

Nice display, photos and a lot of interesting information on orchids.
Congratulations on winning the awards.
There's a lot of beauty out there to explore and appreciate.
Such a nice pastime to get out in nature and seek out these beautiful creations that God has created.
Take care. Thelma.

Ron said...

Thanks, Thelma. We do enjoy the creation and God's hand in it.

Janet Brien said...

Oh, RON!!! This is just FANTASTIC!!! I mean WOW. I am so pleased that you made the monumental effort to recreate your display online so that I could appreciate every morsel. Wondrous. The pictures are all just so super. The information that you have shared is really interesting and makes me want so BADLY to go out and revisit the places where I found orchids in the past. I am in awe of the different flowers you've "collected" so far...or perhaps you have seen every wild orchid in Washington? What a wonderful challenge to find every one of them. I am so delighted that you can turn your passion into a display like this which in turn ignites a passion in others.

Congratulations for the well-deserved awards. It was a magnificent display and now it is an outstanding blog which the world can now enjoy.

You really are the best. Thank you so much for the show, I simply loved it. AND by the way, I showed Steve and he was totally blown away. :)

Ron said...

There is one Washington native orchid that I haven't seen in Washington, though I've seen it in the Canadian Rockies where it is very common (rare in Washington). Thanks for the comments, they are much appreciated.