Leighton Photography & Imaging

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Calypsoeae 10 images Created 2 Apr 2012

A collection of wild native Florida orchids photographed in their natural environment belonging to the tribe: Calypsoeae.
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  • In July, long after the green spotted leaf has withered and disappeared, a small greenish-brown stem, or spike, will poke up through the forest floor encased in a leaf-like sheath, and will within a week resemble the familiar form of most North American terrestrial orchids as they are about to flower.
    Cranefly Orchid
  • As you can see in this image - the greenish brown colors match perfectly with the general background color of this North Florida forest. I had no idea they were so common until I found hundreds of winter leaves in scattered locations around the Florida Panhandle.
    Cranefly Orchid
  • This highly camoflaged orchid is nearly impossible to see in the wild. They blend in perfectly with their surroundings, and if the buds are hard to see because of their tiny size, the half-inch flowers reflect enough light to blend in with the dappled sunlight of the forest floor.
    Cranefly Orchid
  • Close-up to show the detail of this delicate little flower.
    Cranefly Orchid
  • I've encountered these unusual terrestrial orchids in many places along the Apalachicola River. Local terrain and locations include heavily wooded hills, steep ravines, and near creeks cutting through limestone or packed clay. American beech and magnolia trees are always in abundance, as well as the ever-present poison ivy.
    Cranefly Orchid
  • The thing about this particular orchid (and several other distantly related terrestrial orchids) is that it is nearly invisible - even in front of you.
    Cranefly Orchid
  • Two varieties of crane-fly orchids found in Gadsden County, Florida in their fall "leaf" phase. The normal spotted version (Tipularia discolor) is growing here with the green version without spots (Tipularia discolor forma viridifolia).
    Cranefly Orchid
  • Two varieties of crane-fly orchids found in Gadsden County, Florida in their fall "leaf" phase. The normal spotted version (Tipularia discolor) is growing here with the green version without spots (Tipularia discolor forma viridifolia).
    Cranefly Orchid
  • The cranefly orchid growing near the Florida-Georgia border. These perfectly camoflaged orchids have one of the most interesting life-cycles found among Florida's native orchids.
    Cranefly Orchid
  • A colony of the biggest-leaved cranefly orchidsI've ever seen. Found here in a sloping forest in Leon County, Florida.
    Cranefly Orchid