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Also known as Habenaria quinqueseta v. macroceratitis. This is a woodland species found sparingly in Florida. Where it is found, it can form dense colonies of plants through vegetative reproduction. In fact, some colonies seen in deeper woods never seem to flower (strong enough light is often a key to orchids flowering well), but spread into large, sterile colonies through asexual reproduction alone.
I have visited this particular site in Citrus County, FL for three years running, always just a bit too late to see the plants in flower. I have been greeted instead by wilted flowers and swelling seed pods. This year, I finally got the timing right and found about ten flowering plants among a colony of several hundred. There was no breeze to speak of and the morning sun shone a spotlight (sometimes diffused by clouds) on the beckoning spikes. The flowers are some of the larger flowers in the state, being about 2 inches (5 cm) across from spindly arm to spindly arm. To add to the superlatives, the spur/nectary itself can be a good six inches (15 cm) or more in length. While I haven't smelled a fragrance personally, it is very likely that, like H. repens and H. odontopetala, this species emits a night fragrance to attract rather long-tongued moths to their flowers. Below are thumbnails of the photos taken. Clicking them will open the full-sized photo:You will also notice a medium-sized brown spider on the larger spike, evidently at home among the spidery blossoms. Here is a closeup:
This type of ambush predation on flowering stems of all sorts is quite often encountered in the field...spiders laying in wait for a hapless visitor to the flowers and the pollinators hoping to survive their next visit to a flower spike. It's all a part of the web of life...prey and predator, pollinator and pollinated playing out their roles in a quiet corner of the woods in the wilds of Florida.Enjoy!
---Prem
We've added a brand new bumper sticker to our web shop. For only $5 and some change (for tax, shipping, etc.), you can proudly show your support for our native orchids:
Click the image above to visit the web store.
A portion of the proceeds goes toward funding native orchid conservation efforts.
She unfurls threads of finest gossamer,
tying together violent strands,
where her victims meet their end,
where her children find beginning.
Here lies beauty,
here lies fear.
Here is death,
and renewed life.
The web that ties all things together...
©
2010 Prem Subrahmanyam, All rights reserved.
We didn't quite make it to Myakka River State Park the other day. We were diverted by a report of a specimen-sized Butterfly Orchid in flower in a nearby wildland, so we went there instead. By the time we finished the 1.6 mile hike to the orchid and back, the children were hot and tired, so we decided call it quits early and to head over to a friend's house and cook up some barbecue. Our friend ended up accidentally putting a bit too much charcoal in the grill and it became about as hot as the inside of a volcano...I am still waiting for some of those singed arm hairs to grow back. Fun times!
Here are two images of this impressive specimen plant...over one hundred 1.5-inch flowers on multiple flower spikes (click to see the images at full size):
You can read more about this orchid at my Florida Butterfly Orchid Webpage:
Click here to find out more about Encyclia tampensis - The Florida Butterfly Orchid
Enjoy!
---Prem
July 3, 2010: Corkscrew Swamp's 'Super Ghost' orchid is starting to bloom again. According to the following article:
Ghost Orchid article
The first of fourteen flower buds is opening. This is the only ghost orchid whose location is not kept hidden from the public, owing to the fact that it is far off the boardwalk (about 100 feet) and 40 feet up a tree. There are other ghost orchids that grow elsewhere in the Big Cypress Swamp, Fakahatchee Strand State Park, etc., but their location is a closely guarded secret to prevent illegal poaching.
Corkscrew Swamp is located near Naples, Florida and is a wonderful place to visit, featuring a two-plus mile boardwalk through the heart of one of the last stands of old growth baldcypress trees in the US. In addition to visiting a botanical paradise unlike anything else in the world, birds and other wildlife are often visible just off the boardwalk, seemingly oblivious to the people gawking at them. To plan your trip there, visit their website at:
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
There are also a number of hotels and restaurants in the area offering exclusive 'ghost orchid rates' for visitors coming in to see the rare flowers. You can find out more at:
www.paradisecoast.com
To find out more about the Ghost Orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii), visit the following link:
Ghost Orchid Information Page on FLNativeOrchids.com
Enjoy!
---Prem
Today, our family is heading to the Sarasota area and the Myakka River State Park. It is one of the best areas in the state to observe the Florida Butterfly Orchid in flower, and they are in the peak of their flowering right now.
Here is a link to the park's website if you're interested in visiting it:
http://www.floridastateparks.org/myakkariver/
Oh, and please note: it is illegal to collect the orchids from this park (or any public property for that matter). If you would like your own butterfly orchid, check out my website and go through the links section for a list of commercial nurseries that may have this orchid in stock:
http://www.flnativeorchids.com
Enjoy!
---Prem
I made a trip up into the Florida panhandle recently in late April, primarily to transport family members back to the Orlando area for a visit. Of course, not one to waste a good opportunity, I scheduled a brief amount of time to head into the woods and check on the local flora. I have seen Calopogon barbatus (commonly known as the bearded grass pink or early grass pink) many times in the area...the first time happened when my family got our car stuck in some dirt on a side road in the Apalachicola National Forest. Typically, they come up at the end of March and into the beginning of April, so I didn't have much hope of finding them in bloom this late. Much to my surprise, many small racemes of pink, slightly-less-than-one-inch flowers greeted me along a familiar trailside. It seems that many plants are blooming late this year, owing to the unusually cold and long winter (for Florida, anyway--I hear that in the northern states, spring came a bit early).
Here is one of the first photos to make it through the rather arduous digital editing process:
Note the bristle of hairs presented on the upper half of the lip. You might think (along with any self-respecting bee) that this is a cluster of stamens and/or pistils all covered in pollen and ready for the bees to collect (and thus distribute pollen between flowers), but you would think incorrectly. The true pollen is in the arrow-like structure (the column) arching downward from the center of the flower. The lip is jointed below the bristles, bending under the weight of the small bees that visit these flowers. This forces the bee onto its back onto the waiting column below. In the process, pollen is transferred to its back, to be picked up when it visits the next flower. Thus, this species of orchid uses trickery to achieve pollination, not offering any true reward (nectar or pollen) to the visiting bee. This strategy appears to be fairly successful, judging by the number of seed pods encountered on these plants in the wild.
Enjoy!
---Prem
