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  • These tiny-flowered members of the Spiranthes orchids are found in summer growing in dry sandy areas. These were photographed near Lake Talquin in Gadsden County.
    Little Ladies'-tresses (Spiranthes t.. - 4
  • These tiny-flowered members of the Spiranthes orchids are found in summer growing in dry sandy areas. These were photographed near Lake Talquin in Gadsden County.
    Little Ladies'-tresses (Spiranthes t.. - 3
  • These tiny-flowered members of the Spiranthes orchids are found in summer growing in dry sandy areas. These were photographed near Lake Talquin in Gadsden County.
    Little Ladies'-tresses (Spiranthes t.. - 2
  • The giant rattlesnake orchid - the most frequently encountered orchid I've seen so far in the state of Washington in bloom on Mount Rainier. I've seen these orchids from the lowlands near the Puget Sound to almost the tree-line in the Cascades Mountains. While the leaves are beautifully patterned and evergreen, the flowers are quite simple and white.
    Western Rattlesnake Orchid (Goodyera..lia)
  • Giant ladies'-tresses found growing in a dried-up bog in the Apalachicola National Forest. Tubular flowers are a key to identifying this species from all the other similar ladies-tresses orchids.
    Giant Ladies'-tresses (Spiranthes pr..cox)
  • Fragrant ladies'-tresses growing in a prairie on the edge of the Fakahatchee Strand. A simple key to identifying this orchid from other ladies'-tresses - just put your nose to it and you will know instantly if it is fragrant or not. Just watch out for the expertly camoflaged crab spiders that are sometimes found among the flowers!
    Fragrant Ladies'-tresses (Spiranthes..ata)
  • These beautiful tiny flowers of the grass-leaved ladies'-tresses form a perfect spiral in this native terrestrial orchid, found growing along the highway in rural coastal North Florida.
    Grass-leaved Ladies'-tresses (Spiran..lis)
  • The western rattlesnake plantain orchid is a very common and often overlooked beautiful orchid found across all of the western provinces and states on North America (excluding Nevada) and is found natively in all of the eastern Canadian provinces and  reaches south into both Michigan and Maine that is generally associated with conifer forests and mountains that have abundant, deep leaf litter or moss. This one was found growing among many thousands of others blooming in northern Montana's Glacier National Park.
    Western Rattlesnake Plantain Orchid
  • The flowers of the western rattlesnake plantain orchid are quite nondescript for an orchid, but up close they are quite beautiful. Unlike other Goodyera orchid species that all look somewhat similar to each other, Goodyera oblongifolia's flowers all tend to face the same direction on the flowering stalk, which appears about mid to late summer, depending on the longitude, altitude and local climate. Each tiny flower is hermaphroditic, meaning they have both female and male parts and most often pollinated by bumble bees. These were found and photographed in Glacier National Park in Northern Montana.
    Western Rattlesnake Plantain Orchid
  • A vibrant and healthy non-blooming specimen of the giant rattlesnake orchid growing in a damp forest near Enumclaw, Washington. Orchids are most well-known for their beautiful and exotic flowers, but this one has beautiful variegated leaves that outcompete the drab, tiny white flowers that will appear in late summer.
    Western Rattlesnake Orchid (Goodyera..lia)
  • A colony of western rattlesnake orchids I've been watching on Mount Rainier for the past year are almost ready to bloom....
    Western Rattlesnake Orchid (Goodyera..lia)
  • Close-up of the very rare speckled ladies'-tresses in full flower in the CREW Marsh Hiking Trails in Collier County, Florida.
    Speckled Ladies'-tresses (Cyclopogon..des)
  • Lace-lipped ladies'-tresses flowering near the edge of a lake in Punta Gorda in Charlotte County, Florida.
    Lace-lipped Ladies'-tresses (Spirant..ata)
  • Unusual "double-stalked" fragrant ladies'-tresses found growing in Goethe State Forest.
    Fragrant Ladies'-tresses (Spiranthes..ata)
  • The brilliant and fuzzy leafless beaked orchid growing in Charlotte County, Florida in a stand of young pine trees. We found an unbelievable number of these all over Southwest Florida this spring and summer. They seem to be thriving in this drought!
    Leafless Beaked Orchid (Sacoila lanc..ata)
  • Close-up of the delicate fragrant ladies'-tresses found growing in Goethe State Forest, Florida.
    Fragrant Ladies'-tresses (Spiranthes..ata)
  • One of the most unusual plants I've ever seen, the copper ladies-tresses orchid literally looks like it could be made out of copper. Extremely rare in the United States and almost impossible to see in the dark, remote forests where they are found, this tiny terrestrial orchids can be found only in a few scattered locations in Florida, but is much more common in the Caribbean Islands. This one was found (and almost accidentally stepped on) in rural Central Florida.
    Copper Ladies'-Tresses (Mesadenus lu..nus)
  • The flowers of the western rattlesnake plantain orchid are quite nondescript for an orchid, but up close they are quite beautiful. Unlike other Goodyera orchid species that all look somewhat similar to each other, Goodyera oblongifolia's flowers all tend to face the same direction on the flowering stalk, which appears about mid to late summer, depending on the longitude, altitude and local climate. Each tiny flower is hermaphroditic, meaning they have both female and male parts and most often pollinated by bumble bees. These slightly fading flowers were found and photographed in Waterton Lakes National Park in Southern Alberta, Canada.
    Western Rattlesnake Plantain Orchid
  • The flowers of the western rattlesnake plantain orchid are quite nondescript for an orchid, but up close they are quite beautiful. Unlike other Goodyera orchid species that all look somewhat similar to each other, Goodyera oblongifolia's flowers all tend to face the same direction on the flowering stalk, which appears about mid to late summer, depending on the longitude, altitude and local climate. Each tiny flower is hermaphroditic, meaning they have both female and male parts and most often pollinated by bumble bees. These were found and photographed in Glacier National Park in Northern Montana.
    Western Rattlesnake Plantain Orchid
  • Thanks to busy the bumblebees in the Rocky Mountain summertime, this western rattlesnake orchid's flowers have been fertilized and have gone to fruit. In later months, these will dry and crack open, releasing millions of microscopic spores ensuring the spread of another generation of these beautiful wild orchids among the forest floor. This one was found in a sunny patch of deep forest where a fallen tree has opened a bit of the overhead canopy, letting direct sunlight reach the forest floor in Glacier National Park in northern Montana.
    Western Rattlesnake Plantain Orchid
  • The flowers of the western rattlesnake plantain orchid are quite nondescript for an orchid, but up close they are quite beautiful. Unlike other Goodyera orchid species that all look somewhat similar to each other, Goodyera oblongifolia's flowers all tend to face the same direction on the flowering stalk, which appears about mid to late summer, depending on the longitude, altitude and local climate. Each tiny flower is hermaphroditic, meaning they have both female and male parts and most often pollinated by bumble bees. These were found and photographed in Glacier National Park in Northern Montana.
    Western Rattlesnake Plantain Orchid
  • The flowers of the western rattlesnake plantain orchid are quite nondescript for an orchid, but up close they are quite beautiful. Unlike other Goodyera orchid species that all look somewhat similar to each other, Goodyera oblongifolia's flowers all tend to face the same direction on the flowering stalk, which appears about mid to late summer, depending on the longitude, altitude and local climate. Each tiny flower is hermaphroditic, meaning they have both female and male parts and most often pollinated by bumble bees. These were found and photographed in Glacier National Park in Northern Montana.
    Western Rattlesnake Plantain Orchid
  • The western rattlesnake plantain orchid is a very common and often overlooked beautiful orchid found across all of the western provinces and states on North America (excluding Nevada) and is found natively in all of the eastern Canadian provinces and  reaches south into both Michigan and Maine that is generally associated with conifer forests and mountains that have abundant, deep leaf litter or moss. This one was found growing among many thousands of others blooming in northern Montana's Glacier National Park.
    Western Rattlesnake Plantain Orchid
  • This particular beauty stands out to me for its simple symmetry. Most Spiranthes orchids have flowers that spiral around the stalk (or spike) but this one carries its flowers in three almost vertical columns, with a slight spiral.
    Southern Oval Ladies'-Tresses (Spira..lis)
  • Southern oval ladies'-tresses, also known as October ladies' tresses blooming in an isolated forest in North Florida. This particular orchid is quite hard to find, and has a cool feature - instead of the usual corkscrew spiraling of flowers, the flowers bloom in three straight rows. Very cool-looking from above - almost triangular!
    Southern Oval Ladies'-Tresses (Spira..lis)
  • Close-up of the very rare speckled ladies'-tresses in full flower in Collier County, Florida. The fuzzy flowers reflect light giving them a "shimmery" look.
    Speckled Ladies'-tresses (Cyclopogon..des)
  • The western rattlesnake plantain orchid is a very common and often overlooked beautiful orchid found across all of the western provinces and states on North America (excluding Nevada) and is found natively in all of the eastern Canadian provinces and  reaches south into both Michigan and Maine that is generally associated with conifer forests and mountains that have abundant, deep leaf litter or moss. This one was found growing among many thousands of others blooming in northern Montana's Glacier National Park.
    Western Rattlesnake Plantain Orchid
  • The flowers of the western rattlesnake plantain orchid are quite nondescript for an orchid, but up close they are quite beautiful. Unlike other Goodyera orchid species that all look somewhat similar to each other, Goodyera oblongifolia's flowers all tend to face the same direction on the flowering stalk, which appears about mid to late summer, depending on the longitude, altitude and local climate. Each tiny flower is hermaphroditic, meaning they have both female and male parts and most often pollinated by bumble bees. These were found and photographed in Glacier National Park in Northern Montana.
    Western Rattlesnake Plantain Orchid
  • The flowers of the western rattlesnake plantain orchid are quite nondescript for an orchid, but up close they are quite beautiful. Unlike other Goodyera orchid species that all look somewhat similar to each other, Goodyera oblongifolia's flowers all tend to face the same direction on the flowering stalk, which appears about mid to late summer, depending on the longitude, altitude and local climate. Each tiny flower is hermaphroditic, meaning they have both female and male parts and most often pollinated by bumble bees. These were found and photographed in Glacier National Park in Northern Montana.
    Western Rattlesnake Plantain Orchid
  • The flowers of the western rattlesnake plantain orchid are quite nondescript for an orchid, but up close they are quite beautiful. Unlike other Goodyera orchid species that all look somewhat similar to each other, Goodyera oblongifolia's flowers all tend to face the same direction on the flowering stalk, which appears about mid to late summer, depending on the longitude, altitude and local climate. Each tiny flower is hermaphroditic, meaning they have both female and male parts and most often pollinated by bumble bees. ThThis one was found and photographed in Waterton Lakes National Park in Southern Alberta, Canada. See how the flowers at the bottom of the stalk are already beginning to brown and fade as the upper ones haven't even opened yet?
    Western Rattlesnake Plantain Orchid
  • Bumblebees are one of the primary pollinators of the western rattlesnake plaintain orchid, such as this one found deep in a forest in Alberta's Canadian Rocky Mountains. The flowers of this common orchid are quite nondescript for an orchid, but up close they are quite beautiful. Unlike other Goodyera orchid species that all look somewhat similar to each other, Goodyera oblongifolia's flowers all tend to face the same direction on the flowering stalk, which appears about mid to late summer, depending on the longitude, altitude and local climate.
    Western Rattlesnake Plantain Orchid
  • Despite the unusual name, the western rattlesnake plantain orchid has nothing to do with rattlesnakes other than that some of the leaves of orchids in the Goodyera genus can sometimes have such elaborate white-veined patterns on their dark green leaves, especially around mid-rib that they appear to resemble snake skin. As in many naming cases, once an old common or folk name gets established, then is often here to stay. These immature plants in Northern Montana will most likely put out their first flower stalks in the next year or two.
    Western Rattlesnake Plantain Orchid
  • Unusual "double-stalked" woodland ladies'-tresses found in full flower in the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge in Jefferson County, Florida.
    Woodland Ladies'-tresses (Spiranthes..ica)
  • In this particular very isolated location in North Florida, I found about fifty-five of these rare orchids.
    Southern Oval Ladies'-Tresses (Spira..lis)
  • The swelling green seedpods and the never-to-open flowers of the northern oval ladies'-tresses. This is because this orchid (var. erostellata) is self-pollinating and does not require an insect pollinator.
    Northern Oval Ladies'-Tresses (Spira..ata)
  • Lawn orchid photographed on the edge of Loop Road, deep in the Big Cypress National Preserve.
    Lawn Orchid (Zeuxine strateumatica)
  • Fragrant ladies'-tresses deep in a slough in the Big Cypress National Preserve. I have seen literally hundreds of these in dense areas of thes swamps. Be prepared to walk in ankle-deep flooded forest in November and December!
    Fragrant Ladies'-tresses (Spiranthes..ata)
  • Photographed from above - these woodland orchids are beautiful!
    Hairy Shadow-Witch Orchid (Ponthieva..osa)
  • The highly rare and unusual green form of the leafless beaked orchid found in a secret location. This one blew us away! It was unusually large, as well as different from all the other normal ones nearby.
    Leafless Beaked Orchid (Sacoila lanc..dis)
  • Close-up of these beautiful delicate flowers in Jefferson County, near the Gulf Coast.
    Grass-leaved Ladies'-tresses (Spiran..lis)
  • Fakahatchee beaked orchids growing in the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Collier County, Florida. These suddenly appear all over the area when the swamps are low or dry in early April.
    Fakahatchee Beaked Orchids (Sacoila ..ola)
  • The flowers of the western rattlesnake plantain orchid are quite nondescript for an orchid, but up close they are quite beautiful. Unlike other Goodyera orchid species that all look somewhat similar to each other, Goodyera oblongifolia's flowers all tend to face the same direction on the flowering stalk, which appears about mid to late summer, depending on the longitude, altitude and local climate. Each tiny flower is hermaphroditic, meaning they have both female and male parts and most often pollinated by bumble bees. These were found and photographed in Glacier National Park in Northern Montana.
    Western Rattlesnake Plantain Orchid
  • Long-lipped ladies'-tresses orchid found in the Picayune State Forest in South Florida.  An easy identification tip is if you find it and it is winter, the sepals are spread out wide, and you are in a dry pine forest, you are probably looking at the long lipped ladies'-tresses! This one was found between two palmettos at night.
    Long-Lipped Ladies'-tresses (Spirant..ris)
  • One of the most common on all springtime terrestial orchids in Florida - the grass leaved ladies'-tresses can be found on roadsides, lawns, ditches - both in shade and open places.
    Grass-leaved Ladies'-tresses (Spiran..lis)
  • Close-up view of the beautiful fuzzy scarlet flowers of the leafless beaked orchid.
    Leafless Beaked Orchid Close-up (Sac..ata)
  • This small and beautiful orchid was found growing with about a dozen others along the road outside of Auburn, Alabama. First time I'd ever seen this delicate member of the Spiranthes genus.
    Northern Slender Ladies'-tresses
  • This nice specimen of Spiranthes praecox - the giant ladies' tresses orchid was found growing near the Ochlockonee River close to Sopchoppy, Florida. Found throughout most of the American southeast and west to Texas and Oklahoma, this terrestrial orchid is found most often in late spring and early summer in a variety of habitats. I've found them in acidic bogs on occasion, but usually I find them growing in pine forests.
    Giant Ladies'-tresses (Spiranthes pr..cox)
  • This orchid always eludes me, but this evening I found two, but I was too early by about a week to see it in flower. There is always next year ....
    Spurred Neottia (Eltroplectris neottia)
  • Close-up of the delicate flowers and gentle twist up the flower spike.
    Southern Oval Ladies'-Tresses (Spira..lis)
  • Close-up with detail view of the self-pollinating flowers.
    Northern Oval Ladies'-Tresses (Spira..ata)
  • Fragrant ladies'-tresses deep in a slough in the Big Cypress National Preserve. It's tough travel through these flooded forests, but many kinds of orchids can be found here together.
    Fragrant Ladies'-tresses (Spiranthes..ata)
  • The wonderfully scented Spiranthes odorata growing in shadows of Goethe State Forest in Levy County, Florida.
    Fragrant Ladies'-tresses (Spiranthes..ata)
  • Costa Rican ladies'-tresses hidden deep in the Florida Everglades. These tiny orchids are nearly impossible to find among the hardwoods.
    Costa Rican Ladies'-tresses (Beloglo..sis)
  • Close-up of these tiny tropical orchid's flowers.
    Costa Rican Ladies'-tresses (Beloglo..sis)
  • The flowers of the copper ladies'-tresses have the most unusual metallic sheen, something I've never seen in my life. These tiny flowers are about 4-5 millimeters wide, and macro photography was needed here with a ring flash.
    Copper Ladies'-Tresses (Mesadenus lu..nus)
  • These thin orchids were about three inches high, and in a colony of about eight plants - all in flower.
    Copper Ladies'-Tresses (Mesadenus lu..nus)
  • These tiny-flowered members of the Spiranthes orchids are found in summer growing in dry sandy areas. These were photographed near Lake Talquin in Gadsden County.
    Little Ladies'-tresses (Spiranthes t.. - 1
  • Close-up of the hairy shadow-witch orchid.
    Hairy Shadow-Witch Orchid (Ponthieva..osa)
  • Lawn orchid found growing in Fort Myers, Florida but not in a completely wild location. This one along with about five others appeared in one of my cultivated orchid pots on my front porch!
    Lawn Orchid (Zeuxine strateumatica)
  • Despite the unusual name, the western rattlesnake plantain orchid has nothing to do with rattlesnakes other than that some of the leaves of orchids in the Goodyera genus can sometimes have such elaborate white-veined patterns on their dark green leaves, especially around mid-rib that they appear to resemble snake skin. As in many naming cases, once an old common or folk name gets established, then is often here to stay. These immature plants in Northern Montana will most likely put out their first flower stalks in the next year or two.
    Western Rattlesnake Plantain Orchid
  • Hooded ladies'-tresses beautifully backlit on a sunny day on Mount Rainier.
    Hooded Ladies'-Tresses (Spiranthes r..ana)
  • This incredibly small orchid is next to impossible to find. In fact, it's one I thought I might never find, but I stumbled into while looking for caves in the Withlacoocheee State Forest in Central Florida near the river of the same name.
    Copper Ladies'-Tresses (Mesadenus lu..nus)