Three Piperias and a Goodyera at Deception Pass

Saturday, July 30, I was down on Whidbey Island at Deception Pass State Park to look for several orchids there.  I found three Platantheras (formerly Piperias) and one Goodyera in bloom.  Goodyera oblongifolia, the Giant Rattlesnake Orchis, was just starting to bloom.  The three Platantheras were at different stages of their bloom seasons.  Platanthera elegans, the Elegant Piperia, was nearly finished.  Platanthera transversa, the Flat-spurred Piperia, was still good but past its prime, and Plaatanthera elongata, the Long-spurred Piperia was at the peak of its bloom.  The latter species was also more abundant than usual, with hundreds of plants and several large colonies.  It should be noted that all the Piperias are now reclassified as Platantheras, though I prefer the old names since they are so distinctive.

Giant Rattlesnake Orchis

Goodyera oblongifolia

Elegant Piperia

Platanthera elegans

Flat-spurred Piperia

Platanthera transversa

Long-spurred Piperia

Platanthera elongata

Thirty-second and Last Orchid of the Season and Others

We had not expected to find any more native orchids, at least not any new species, when we were out hiking August 7th.  We did, however, find the thirty-second orchid of the season and a new species for us in Washington.  Though we had seen this species a number of times previously, when I checked my records I discovered that this was the first time we saw it in the state.  The orchid is the best of our Platantheras, Platanthera orbiculata, the Pad-leaved Orchis, known both for its large, shiny plate-like leaves which are held close to the ground and for its intricate greenish-white flowers.  The plant can be up to 75 cm tall, but these were smaller, nearer 30 cm.  They were almost finished flowering, but were unmistakable and were growing where one would expect to see them, in an open woodland.  Because the flowers were not that fresh I've included a couple of other pictures from another location.

Along with the Platanthera we found quite a number of Goodyera oblongifolia, the Giant Rattlesnake Orchis, still blooming. These in fact were everywhere, and though they are so common that we usually do not even bother to photograph them, it was nice to see them when hardly anything else, orchids or wildflowers, was blooming.

Twenty-seventh Orchid of the Season

The Giant Rattlesnake Orchis, Goodyera oblongifolia, is gigantic only in relation to its smaller relative, the Lesser Rattlesnake Orchis, Goodyera repens.  The plant itself is a small rosette of leaves at ground level and the flower spikes less than 45 cm.  The tiny white flowers are rather inconspicuous and probably would not even be recognized as orchids by most people.  The leaves are often beautifully patterned, but sometimes have only a white stripe down the mid-vein.  The species is one of our most common orchids and can be found out of flower year around since the leaves are usually evergreen.  These photos were taken in Olympic National Park but the orchid can be found almost anywhere in the Pacific Northwest.

Goodyera oblongifolia

Goodyera oblongifolia, the Giant Rattlesnake Orchis, is one of only two species in that genus to be found in the Pacific Northwest, and the other species, Goodyera repens, the Lesser Rattlesnake Orchis, is not found in Washington or Oregon.  The common name would suggest that the Giant Rattlesnake Orchis is a large plant, but it is not: the rosette of leaves is only 22 cm in diameter at most and is often smaller, and the flowers, though they come on a flower spike as long as 45 cm, are quite small and insignificant.  The species is very common and it is rare that we do not see it when hiking.  It has two forms, a plain-leaved form and a form with beautifully reticulated leaves, the flowers of both forms being identical.

April 14

(Fidalgo Island - both leaf forms)

May 31
(Blewett Pass)

June 23
(Columbia River Gorge)

July 25
(Whidbey Island)

August 13
(Olympic National Park)