George Ellison is an award-winning naturalist and writer. For details, please check with your state. In the Blue Ridge there are about fifty native orchid species. Contact them at info@georgeellison.com or info@elizabethellisonwatercolors.com or write to P.O. FACU). (intentionally or in part by the National Science Foundation. Show All rights reserved. to exist in the county by the state. Found this plant? in 20 years). The large, showy flowers depend on large bees (mainly bumblebees) for successful pollination. cranefly orchid. unintentionally); has become naturalized. Radially symmetrical flowers with 3 petals and 6 stamens varying in color from blue to rose. Then, as the flowering stems emerge in spring, the leaves wither and disappear. To reuse an The flowers of cranefly orchid are pollinated by night-flying moths. These moths find the flowers soon after they open and stick around only as long as there is nectar still present in the long nectar spurs. This winter leaf strategy obviously evolved as an efficient way to collect the sun's energy in rich hardwood forests when the leaf canopy overhead is absent. Wildlife: White-tailed deer commonly eat the entire leaf, leaving the plant leafless until the following autumn; because such plants accumulate fewer carbohydrates, they are much less likely to flower and produce fruits that year. Cranefly orchid is a rare orchid found in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and in the southeastern states. The Crane-fly Orchid ( Tipularia discolor ), or crippled crane-fly, is a perennial terrestrial woodland orchid, a member of the Orchidaceae. The somewhat asymmetrical flowers of this species are pollinated by noctuid moths, the flower depositing a pollinarium (pollen mass) on either the left or right compound eye of the moth, depending on which way the column is twisted. (Pursh) Nutt. Also covers those considered historical (not seen Your help is appreciated. those considered historical (not seen in 20 years). post Once the canopy closes overhead in spring, the leaves die back to allow stored energy to channel directly into flowering and fruiting processes. All Characteristics, the plant has one or more swollen storage organs underground, such as bulbs, tubers or corms, there are only slender roots on the plant, this plant has a rhizome (a horizontal underground stem with roots growing from it), the leaf is pleated or folded back and forth along its length, the underside of the leaf is strongly tinted with pink, red, purple or reddish brown, the tip of the leaf blade is acuminate (tapers to a long, thin point), the tip of the leaf blade is acute (sharply pointed). Amazingly, the deposition of pollinia on insect eyes is a common mode of pollen transfer in temperate orchids. 2020 Both orchids have prominent bulb-shaped roots (corms) that are well adapted for energy storage. Ecology: This relatively common orchid is easily missed because it's leafless in summer when the plant flowers and the slender flowering stalk and flowers blend in with leaf litter on the forest floor. The solitary basal leaves of puttyroot (Aplectrum hymale) and crane-fly orchid (Tipularia discolor) are easily located from November into early spring. Note: when native and non-native The winter leaf is its outstanding feature. Flowers Apr.-June (often flowering again in fall). Taxonomy: A genus of 70 herbaceous species of the Americas, including 6 species in the mountains and piedmont. For this reason, they are sometimes called winter leaf or hibernal orchids, but I think of them as winter orchids. Go Botany: Native Plant Trust But as curious as it may seem, winter is the prime time to locate and identify two of our orchid species. Common. Habitat/range: Rock outcrops and dry, rocky woods. to exist in the state, but not documented to a county within The only other wintergreen, summer-deciduous orchid in our eastern deciduous forests is putty root (Aplectrum hyemale). Copyright: various copyright holders. evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Ecology: Hairy spiderwort copes with the extremely hot, dry summer environment of rock outcrops by actively growing primarily during the cooler months of late fall and spring. Exact status definitions can vary from state to a sighting. The underside of the single leaf is purple, and it does not persist until flowering. Purplish green to brown flowers in loose racemes. Flowers July-Sept.; fruits Aug.-Sept. Habitat/range: Variety of moist to dry forests, usually on acidic soils. Although the plant is rather common throughout the Blue Ridge, it is inconspicuous when flowering in the shadowy woodland settings it favors.