Florida Wild Orchid / Wildflower Walk!

On June 6, we hosted a wild orchid / wildflower walk in the east Orlando area (Ft. Christmas Park and Orlando Wetlands Park).  16 People attended, and we had a great time seeing Florida Butterfly Orchids, Grass Pink Orchids, and Water Spider Orchids all in flower.  In addition, we saw plants of the Greenfly Orchid and Jingle Bell Orchid (these should be blooming in August).  In addition, we saw many other wildflowers, a hummingbird visiting some Tillandsia flowers high in a tree, and a Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake.

Much fun was had by all! 

We will try to do this again in 2016 in the first week of June.

Sometimes Lightning Strikes Twice (or, In This Case, Three Times)

Just a few weeks after finding the previous white Grass Pink, I revisited the location of a previously known white-flowered plant, to find a perfect threesome of pure-white flowers! Well, pure white except for the orange-yellow color in the hair bristles.

I was particularly happy that the positioning of the flowers allowed the focal plane to neatly bisect all three bristles of hairs, allowing each to be in sharp focus. A pretty rare shot, indeed!

For a refresher on how Grass Pinks are pollinated, which is quite fascinating in its own right, watch the video below:

 

White Grass Pink! or Calopogon tuberosus fma. albiflorus

For the fourth time, recently, in my 30+ years of observing Florida native orchids in the wild, I have come across the albus (white) form of the Grass Pink Orchid (Calopogon tuberosus). Photos taken with natural light and an off-shoe camera flash unit. Enjoy this rare sight that few naturalists have ever seen.

First, the flower, taken with natural light (very late afternoon).

Next, taken with an off-shoe flash, allowing a faster shutter speed and a lower aperture for more depth of field.

Enjoy!

Scarlet Ladies' Tresses Orchids Blooming in Central Florida

I have posted a new video to the Florida Native Orchids Youtube channel showing the lovely Scarlet Ladies' Tresses Orchids (Sacoila lanceolata) in flower in a sunny meadow.

Enjoy!

Recent Speaking Engagement - Long Island Orchid Society, NY

Many thanks go to the Long Island Orchid Society for hosting me on Thursday, April 9th.  Here is a link to their website:

http://longislandorchidsociety.org/

This was an historic occasion, as it was my first Florida native orchid themed presentation given outside of the state of Florida.  Previously, I have lectured many dozens of times at orchid societies, native plant societies, garden clubs, and symposiums, discussing our rare and unique orchid heritage.  Afterward, members of the society stated:

"Thank you Prem. It was our pleasure to host you and I think you finally brought some warm weather to NY. You gave our group a very informative well organized talk packed with information and the hour just flew by. 

Highly recommended speaker!"

Florida is home to many rare and beautiful orchids, as well as some that are not as rare (but just as beautiful and interesting).  While the semi-tropical central and southern regions of the state boast the greatest orchid diversity in the entire US (with many of these species found nowhere else in the continental US), Florida also has species that range well outside the state.

This presentation was a combination of the best and most interesting orchids from two of my talks, representing both orchids shared across our borders with the rest of the US and orchids found only within Florida, including such luminaries as the Ghost Orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii).

It is a combination of scientific information, beautiful photographs, and anecdotes from many hundreds of hours in the field hunting, observing, and photographing our orchid wonders.

Previous Appearance - Florida Wildflower and Garden Festival, DeLand, FL

I spoke recently on Florida's native orchids at the Florida Wildflower and Garden Festival on West Indiana Avenue in historic downtown DeLand, Florida.  Thank you to everyone who dropped by our booth and attended the talk, showing your support for our efforts in educating the public about Florida's native orchids.

My talk was at 2PM in the Athens Theatre in the heart of the festival.

Our YouTube Channel is Open for Your Viewing Pleasure

While I primarily shoot still photographs while out in the field, I have been dabbling with shooting short videos of various species of orchids and their habitats and cobbling them together into something that is hopefully interesting and entertaining.  These are all assembled into our YouTube channel, which you can visit by clicking the link below:

Click to Visit Our YouTube Channel

 I have also created a widget in the top right corner of this blog linking to the most recent videos in the channel.

New for 2015 - the Florida Endangered Orchid Calendar

Only $19.99 Plus Shipping!

I have released a new wall calendar for 2015 featuring some of Florida's rarest orchids.  The Florida's Endangered Orchids calendar features 12 stunning photographs of our rarest and most beautiful and intriguing orchids.  These will make great Christmas (or other) presents for your friends, loved ones, and co-workers.

Here is the cover image from this handsome calendar:

and here are a few featured images from this calendar:

 

To order your own calendar, follow the link below:

Florida's Endangered Orchids Calendar.