Three orchids and some other stuff… — 2014-05-01

Anyone who photographs wildflowers in the Carolinas knows that this is a particularly busy time of the year, especially in the upper Piedmont and Mountains. So, for the past few days, I’ve been hitting my favorite haunts in the upstate of South Carolina as well as the first range of low mountains in North Carolina — namely the Brevard area.

The Blue Ridge Escarpment offers the highest rise in elevation in South Carolina, so one can expect to find a particular species in bloom for a longer period of time, blooming earlier at lower elevation and later at higher elevation. It works the same way for the fall leaf color.

The orchids have finally started blooming in our area. They include Cypripedium acaule or Pink Lady’s-slipper orchid, Isotria verticillata or Large Whorled Pogonia orchid, and Galearis spectabilis or Showy orchis:

The first location I visited was Eva Chandler Heritage Preserve in upper Greenville County, South Carolina. I can usually expect the Pink Lady’s-slipper orchids to be in flower around May 1, so I was not surprised to find them in perfect bloom:

Along Persimmon Ridge Road, I found a nice population of Robinia hispida or Bristly Locust also known as Rose Acacia. This is a low-growing shrub, although I have seen it 4-5 feet (1.2-1.5 meters) tall. I’m not sure if the flowers of these plants are edible as are the flowers of its cousin, Robinia pseudoacacia or Black Locust. Those white flowers are sweet and crunchy, and are great in a salad or just by themselves as a snack in the woods:

Just across the road from these pretty pink flowers were some tall, Rhododendron carolinianum or Carolina Rhododendron also known as Piedmont Rhododendron. I understand that R. carolinianum is now a synonym of R. minus, so I should be using the name, R. minus. In any case, the flower color of this species is quite variable — bright white to deep rosy-pink. The ones in our area of South Carolina are generally white:

This species usually blooms a month or so earlier than its relative with much larger white to pink flowers, Rhododendron maximum or Rosebay Rhododendron, and it has brown scales on the underside of the leathery leaves.

Well, it’s now time to head on up the road toward Brevard, North Carolina. This is where there is a large population of Isotria verticillata or Large Whorled Pogonia orchid, secreted on private property in the center of town. I’ve been photographing this unusual-looking orchid for a couple of years — ever since I found out about its location. That’s one of the perks of being a member of the Native Orchid Conference — an organization composed of a group of native orchid enthusiasts that meets once a year somewhere in North America to discuss and photograph orchids in the wild. This year, we are having our annual symposium in Minnesota at Lake Itasca in mid-July. But I digress…

Here are some shots of the mysterious Large Whorled Pogonia orchid:

Another plant that is conspicuous in this patch of orchids, is Uvularia sessilifolia or Sessil Bellwort. This one looks very much like Uvularia puberula or Mountain Bellwort, which you will see later, but U. sessilifolia does not have the minute hairs on the stem as does U. puberula. Here are a couple of shots of U. sessilifolia:

I particularly like the Bellworts, because their flowers are simple and delicately colored, except for Uvularia grandiflora, which in our neck of the woods is bright yellow.

I’m burning daylight, so it’s time to get to the third orchid location for the day, the Pisgah National Forest. This location is another one that I learned about thanks to my membership in the Native Orchid Conference. We had a field trip to this location during a recent symposium that took us from the Atlantic Coastal Plain to the Mountains of North and South Carolina. The orchid species at this location is Galearis spectabilis or Showy orchis. Ten days ago, when my Indiana friend Lee Casebere visited, the plants were still in tight bud, but it was easy to see how they would soon be putting on a splendid show. On this day, there were dozens of plants in singles and groups with orchid flowers in perfect bloom:

As you can see, there was quite the variety in coloration of the flowers. Here are some closeups of some of the color varieties:

There was even one plant growing up against one of my favorite native wildflowers, Arisaema triphyllum or Jack-in-the-Pulpit:

Just across the road from this wonderful array of orchids, was a small group of Trillium plants in bloom. I had photographed several of these last year, and I was puzzled (I still am puzzled) as to the identification of the species. I cannot help but believe that these are Trillium vaseyi crossed with Trillium erectum. I understand that pure white T. vaseyi exist, but I’ve never seen one. However, the flower shape and coloration of one of these in the group leads me to believe that T. erectum play a part in its existence. I have seen T. erectum in the area, but have never photographed them. To make matters worse, there are also some T. simile nearby… Someone suggested that they might be T. sulcatum (also found in the general area), but all of the flowers in this clump hang under the leaves, whereas the flowers of T. sulcatum rise erect, above the leaves.

Having said all of that, here are some shots of the flowers that were in one small group of six plants:

While photographing the Trilliums, I noticed a group of Iris cristata or Dwarf Crested Iris, nearby. I love all of the species in the genus Iris, but these just happen to be my favorites:

That last image on the right, is a close up that shows the crests on the petals that distinguish this species from the other dwarf Iris in our area, Iris verna, or Dwarf Iris.

A few days earlier, I had visited one of our Helonias bullata or Swamp Pink sites to check on the flowers. On the road into the site, I spotted a 20-foot (6-meter) tall Symplocos tinctoria or Horse Sugar tree. I didn’t realize they grew this large, because I had seen only much smaller size trees of this species. Anyway, it was in full bloom with bees buzzing all around it. Here are some images of the tight clusters of creamy-white flowers lining the branches:

The flowers appear to be “fuzzy”, due to the large number of stamens in each flower. These stamens are much longer than the flower petals, and they stick out in every direction.

Just across the road from this huge Horse Sugar tree, I notice a group of Bellworts. These happened to be Uvularia puberula or Mountain Bellwort. Up close, it is possible to see very tiny hairs on the stem of this plant. That is one of the features that distinguishes it from U. sessilifolia or Sessil Bellwort:

Well, it was time to head home. On the way back down the mountain, I stopped to check on some Aplectrum hyemale or Putty-root orchid plants that I knew to be in the area. At that site, I saw some of the lightest colored Uvularia perfoliata or Perfoliate Bellwort that I had ever seen. The term “perfoliate”, indicates that the leaf extends at the base to encircle the stem, so that the stem appears to passes through the leaf. The petals on these plants were almost white — especially in comparison to the other Uvularia species in the area:

Wow! Who knew there were so many different species of wildflowers in such a small area of the Carolinas? Well, if you have read much about the Southern Appalachian Mountains, you will recall that this is one of the most floristically diverse areas in the world! Even more so than the jungles of South America or Africa. I surely do feel privileged to live in an area that allows so many opportunities to photograph these native wildflowers.

–Jim