The Olympics

 

 July14-16 we were in Olympic National Park for some hiking and sightseeing.  We visited a number of our favorite places including Ruby Beach, the Hoh Rainforest, Hurricane Ridge, Lake Crescent and Deer Park.  We did one shorter hike along the Hoh River and one longer hike along Lillian Ridge and down to Grant Lake.  It was not meant to be an orchid-hunting trip but we did find a number of orchids which I've posted here.

Epipactis gigantea (Chatterbox or Stream Orchid)

 

Piperia (Platanthera) elegans (Elegant Piperia)

Neottia banksiana (Northwestern Twayblade)

Piperia (Platanthera) unalascensis (Alaskan Piperia)

Platanthera dilatata var. dilatata (Tall White Northern Bog Orchis)

Platanthera dilatata var. leucostachys (Sierra Rein Orchis)

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