June 1998 North American Native Orchid Journal

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NORTH AMERICAN NATIVEORCHID JOURNAL

______________________________________

Volume 4 JuneNumber 2 1998

a quarterly devoted to the orchids of North Americapublished by the

NORTH AMERICANNATIVE ORCHID ALLIANCE

* * * * * * *

* * * * * * *IN THIS ISSUE:The Pink Lady's-slipper in the Fragmented Forest of CentralVirginiaOrchid Hunting in Florida During January and FebruaryPicture Perfect Orchids

What Ever Happened To All Those Spiranthes?!..andmore!


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(ISSN 1084-7332)published quarterly in

March June September December

by theNORTH AMERICAN NATIVE ORCHID ALLIANCE,

Inc.a group dedicated to the conservation and promotion of our

native orchids

Editor: Paul Martin BrownAssistant Editor: Nathaniel E. Conard

Editorial Consultants:Philip E. Keenan

Stan Folsom

Production Assistant:Nancy A. Webb

The Journalwelcomes articles, of any length, of both a scientificand general interest nature relating to the orchids of NorthAmerica. Scientific articles should conform to guidelines such asthose in Lindleyanaor Rhodora. General interest articles and notesmay be more informal. Authors may include line drawings,and/or black and white photographs. Color inserts may bearranged. Please send all inquiries or material for publication tothe Editor at PO Box 772121, Ocala, FL 34477-2121 (mid June -

August: PO Box 759, Acton, ME 04001-0759).

1999 Membership in the North American Native Orchid Alliance, which includes a subscription to theJournal, is $26 per year forUnited States addresses, $29US in Canada and $32US otherforeign countries. Payment should be sent to Nancy A. Webb, 84Etna St. Brighton, MA 02135-2830 USA. Claims for lost issues orcancelled memberships should be made within 30 days.


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Volume 4 June

Number 2 1998

CONTENTSNOTES FROM THE EDITOR

117

AMERORCHIS ROTUNDIFOLIAforma LINEATAShirley A. Curtis

119

THE PINK LADY'S-SLIPPER IN THE FRAGMENTED

FOREST OF CENTRAL VIRGINIAStephen R. Johnson

124

PICTURE PERFECT ORCHIDS

The Slow Empiricist133

ORCHID HUNTING IN FLORIDA DURING JANUARYAND FEBRUARY

M. J. Parsons

148

TRIFLING WITH TRIPHORAAND SILLY OTHERCILIARIS

Tom Sampliner157


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NEW CHROMOSOME NUMBER DETERMINATIONSIN PLATANTHERA

Charles J. Sheviak andMichelle Bracht168

LOOKING FORWARD:

September 1988173

FLORIDAS DANCING LADYStan Folsom

174

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO ALL THOSESPIRANTHES?!Paul Martin Brown

181

Prepublication Announcement:

Wild Orchids Across North America

189

Unless otherwise credited, all drawings in this issue are by Stan Folsom

Color Plates:1. p. 131 Amerorchis rotundifoliaforma lineata; Cypripedium acaule2. p. 132 Isotria verticillata3. p. 179 Tolumnia bahamensis4. p. 180 Sacoila lanceolatavar. lanceolata; Sacoila lanceolatavar.

paludicola

The opinions expressed in theJournalare those of the authors. Scientific articlesmay be subject to peer review and popular articles will be examined for both

accuracy and scientific content.Volume 4, number 2, pages 117-190 ; issued June 10, 1998.

Copyright 1998 by theNorth American Native Orchid Alliance, Inc.Cover: Platanthera praeclaraby Stan Folsom


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NOTES FROM THE EDITOR

What a spring! Here in Florida is has one neworchid after another every week. Some of the highlightshave included the two varieties of red ladies-tressesSacoila lanceolata and the var. paludicola from theFakahatchee Swamp, the dancing lady, Tolumniabahamense, and both spreading pogonias Cleistesdivaricata and C. bifaria. And those are only a few!! Ihope many of you will plan to attend the conferencehere in Florida next April.

This summers conference is jam packed withboth people and activities. It promises to be a greattime! For me, I will have an opportunity to meet somany of you at last. Because of so many earlyregistrations there have been a few cancellations so thereis still some space left. If you are thinking of joining us -dont delay.

I am at the point of needing more articles to keep

the Journal interesting. Please consider writing aboutyour summers adventures or a favorite place or species.

The September issue of the Journal will containmany of the papers given at the conference inMinnesota.


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I will be working at the herbarium at the FloridaMuseum of Natural History at the University of Floridafor the next several years on a Florida Native OrchidProject. Many interesting and exciting things areplanned around this program which, among otherthings, will result in a full color field guide to the orchidsof Florida. The Museum is in the process of raisingmoney (both gifts and pledges) to finance this program.If you or any organization you belong to is interested inthe project, please write me for a prospectus of theproject.

We will be back in Florida on September 1, so theSeptember issue should be out before the end of the

month. Paul Martin BrownEditor

Summer:PO Box 759

Acton, Maine 04001-0759207/636-3719

SeptMay:

PO Box 772121Ocala, Florida 34477-2121352/861-2565

E-mail:[email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Curtis: AMERORCHIS ROTUNDIFOLIAforma LINEATA

120

several forms but the most interesting to me is the formalineatathat differs from the typical by having two broad,purplish stripes on the lip. Years ago, I found a smallbook called The Orchids of the Cypress Hills. Theintroduction said nowhere in the Prairie Provinces canone find a greater diversity of orchids than in theCypress Hills, which straddle the border between Albertaand Saskatchewan. It said the most common andabundant orchid there was the eastern fairy slipper,Calypso bulbosa, so I knew I wanted to go there someday.

The vegetation of the Cypress Hills is composed mainlyof grassland and forest. But there are no cypress trees.French-Canadian explorers mistakenly thought thelodgepole pine of these hills was their cypres, the jack

pine of eastern Canada, so they named these hillsCypress Hills. Amerorchis rotundifoliagrows in CypressHills.

In 1993, on our way to Alaska we stopped therefor several days. We saw about 2,000 Calypso, and aftermuch exploration and hints from the Park staff we wereable to locate the elusive Amerorchis and met two localbotanists while exploring the site. We saw severalhundred regular plants and 25-35 of the forma lineata

plants. This striped variety was once thought to occuronly in the Cypress Hills but has been discovered inOntario and Banff National Park.

While we were in Alaska we visited a site at EklutnaLake. We found about 200 Amerorchis, none of the


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Amerorchis rotundifoliaSmall round-leafed orchis


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forma lineata, but several of them had large blotches ofpurple color instead of the typical small dots.

Last June, Paul Martin Brown called me to say afriend of his had just returned from the Oompahbog/fen in Oompah, Ontario where he had seen about500Amerorchiswith 200+ of the forma lineata. We wereleaving in two days for a trip to the Bruce Peninsula, so

we decided visiting the Ompah bog/fen could be worked into that trip. Paul gave me the name of theman who owns the fen; I called and received permissionto go into the fen. We found about 300-400 plantsscattered over a large area, with about 150 of them beingthe forma lineata. These were growing right among the

regular ones. The common ones, however, includedspots that were fewer and larger than typical, as well as amixture of large spots on one side of the lip with a singlestripe on the other side. Some had large blotches ofcolor. The spots on each flower are different, they donot have the same pattern, but they do not have thesmall dots either as the regular Amerorchisdo. There areother areas within a few miles of this fen that have theregularAmerorchis,but not the forma lineata.

Blooming at the same time as the Amerorchis inOmpah bog were many other orchids. Among those inbloom were showy lady's-slippers, yellow lady's-slippers, heart-leaved twayblade, early coralroot,Corallorhiza trifida, and northern green bog orchis,Platanthera hyperborea. There were other plants bloomingincluding twinflowers, cotton grass and Labrador tea.


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Johnson: Cypripedium acaule

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THE PINK LADY'S-SLIPPER IN THE

FRAGMENTED FOREST OF CENTRALVIRGINIA

Stephen R. Johnson

In the region of central Virginia surrounding theState Capitol, urbanization has been steadily increasingsince the close of the Second World War, but the pacehas dramatically increased in the last twenty years. True

natural areas in this region are rare, but Richmond andthe contiguous counties have established several parks

where a semblance of wildness exists. Some of theseparks include Rockwood, a county park in ChesterfieldCounty, southeast of the city limits; and Crump, inHenrico County, west of the city. Pocahontas StateForest near Chester, Virginia is just a few miles south ofRichmond.

Each of these parks has a large area consigned forhuman use with athletic fields, jogging paths and clearedhiking trails. These trails go through forests that are notby any measure pristine, but they do resemble a morenatural habitat. This part of Central Virginia has uplandforests dominated by white oak, Quercus alba, with aminor mixture of northern red oak, Q. rubra, southernred oak, Q. falcata, post oak, Q. stellata, and several


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species of hickory, Caryasp. and beech, Fagus grandifolia.These uplands also have some large stands of scrub pine,Pinus virginiana, or loblolly, P. taeda. Much of the landbeneath this forest is mesic and dominated by lowlandtrees such as red maple, Acer rubrum, sweetgum,Liquidambar styraciflua, and tulip tree, Liriodendron tulipifera.

The understory is typically acidic and nutrient poor anddominated by sparse stands of blueberry, Vaccinium sp.and blackberryRubussp.

Beneath the white oaks the ground is covered by athick layer of fallen leaves and leaf mold and is generallyfree of short-statured perennial vegetation. Most plantsthere are either young oak trees (white or red), or

blueberries. If you inspect the understory of this uplandforest in late May, you may be treated to an inspiringshow ofpink lady's-slippers,Cypripedium acaule.Theseorchids were probably very common in pre-colonial

Virginia and, in the more recent past, they were morecommon in the parks.

If you take some time to observe where these pinklady's-slippers grow, you'll notice that they inhabitmany areas that have bright but diffuse sunlight.

Because of this preference for high light, they tend toestablish themselves near cleared paths and roadways.For example, in Rockwood Park, I had observed a verylarge population ofpink lady's-slippers (of perhaps 50plants) under white oaks, in an area near the entrance tothe park. This area was bordered by a highway to thesouth and by entrance or access roads on the other sides.I was rather delighted to find this population in 1986. I


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was equally dismayed but not exactly surprised to findthat it was completely exterminated by 1997.

The remaining population ofpink lady's-slippersin Rockwood numbered 39 individuals in 1997. I haveanalyzed reproductive effort in this population bymonitoring fruit production among the plants from 1990through 1997. In 1991 and again in 1992 only 5 plantsproduced fruits. In 1993 and 1994 no plants producedfruit and in 1995 only one plant succeeded in ripening afruit. In 1996, only 3 plants were successful. Then in1997, an amazing 28% of the population (11 plants)

were successful in completing the fruiting process. Thisincrease may have been related to the unseasonably cool

and moist spring in Central Virginia in 1997. This mayhave been directly beneficial to the plants or had someeffect on the local populations of the pollinators (Radis,1997).

These orchids have an amazing list ofrequirements that must be fulfilled before either seedgermination or successful seedling establishment takesplace. While I didn't investigate all of the myriad ofpotentialities, I was intrigued by a note in The Smithsonian

Guide to Seaside Plants of the Gulf and Atlantic Coast(Duncan and Duncan, 1987) that said pink lady's-slippers grew in association with the roots of pine trees.I have seen it on the Virginia barrier Islands, part of theDelMarVa (Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia) Peninsula,

where the maritime forest is composed predominantly ofloblolly pine, Pinus taeda, but how could this relationship


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between a long-lived orchid and its progeny continueinland where pine forests are replaced by oak?

To try and answer this question, I made manyobservations of pink lady's-slippers in Rockwood,Crump, and Pocahontas in 1995. In each of these parksthere are many and sometimes large populations ofpines, chiefly loblolly. In Rockwood, many but not all ofthe old loblolly sentinels are dead, while white oaksthrive. I measured their distance to the nearest tree of25" dbh (diameter at breast height). Here,pink lady's-slippers grew beneath pines, sometimes at the base, butmore often at a distance of 0.5 to 1 meter away. Diggingbeside the pink lady's-slipper often (in 8 cases out of

the total 10) revealed a large root that originated at thepine. Three juveniles were even growing partially on theexposed surface of a pine root. The other 11 orchids

were growing in association with white oak. Most werebetween 1 and 2 meters from the trees' base. Five weregrowing in clear association with an oak root. At CrumpPark, the association between pink lady's-slippers and

white oaks was even more evident. There, out of 54distinct observations of orchid plants and distances to25" dbh trees, the vast majority (63%) grew within 2

meters of a pine tree. Of these 34 plants, 17 weregrowing in direct contact with a pine root. In Crump,the association with white oak seemed much clearer.

Thirty three percent (18 plants) were growing at anaverage distance of 0.23 meters away from a white oak.

A row of 6 plants were found growing along a single,exposed, white oak root in a linear array, with the largest


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plant closer to the tree trunk and the smallest (assumedyoungest) at the farthest extremity of the root.

At Pocahontas State Forest, I eventually found apopulation of these orchids in a newly cleared forest gap.Most of the 29 orchids spotted were close to (within 0-1.5 m) pine stumps. The felled trees lay all aroundexcept in the cleared trail. Where these orchids hadexperienced bright diffuse light on the trail beneath thepines, they now suffered from the intense direct sunlight.

Two plants were clearly dying (showing tissue necrosis)and about 25% (8 plants) were chlorotic, a clearsymptom of damage due to the radically increased lightintensity. In my judgement, these plants were growing in

association with the pines. The dominant tree remainingin the area was southern red oak. I have not seen thispopulation since 1995, but based on my observations oforchids in the county parks which associated in a fewcircumstances with southern red oak (Rockwood) orpost oak (Crump), I can imagine that some members ofthe population may have adjusted.


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Cypripedium acaulepink ladys-slipper


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My observations do suggest that thepink lady's-slipper does associate with the roots of loblolly pine,and also, though to a lesser degree, they associate withthe roots of oaks, predominantly white oak. The greatdegree of association with pine and the lesser one withoaks leads me to speculate that the association between

pine andpink lady's-slipper is somehow morebeneficial to this orchid than is the benefit from the

association with the oaks. But this appreciable degree ofassociation between orchid and oak leads me to a largerspeculation. I can imagine that thepink lady's-slipper

is very common in a pine-dominated forest, but as itgives way to oaks the orchids, in smaller numbers,

persevere. These oak-associated orchids then form small

populations that shed seeds to continue establishingplants near the oaks. But eventually a storm, or insectdamage, and more commonly man, topples the oaks andthe pines return. From the orchids that persisted withthe oaks, seeds are shed to colonize and form a larger

population in the new forest of pine. This would form along cycle of persistence as sure as the cycle of seasons.

ReferencesDuncan, W. H. and M. B. Duncan. 1987. The Smithsonian Guide to

Seaside Plants of the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts from Louisiana to Massachusetts, Exclusive of Lower Peninsular Florida.Smithsonian Institute Press, Washington D.C. 409 p.

Radis, R. 1997. Exalted vegetables. North American Native OrchidJournal3: 453-471.

Stephen R. Johnson, Ph.D., Central College, Pella, Iowa 50219Stephen last wrote for the Journal in December of 1996concerning Orchids of Louisianas Cajon Prairie.


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Amerorchis rotundifoliaforma lineata

small round-leavedorchis

lined-lipped formOntario, Canada

S.A. Curtis

Cypripedium acaulepink lady's-slipper

NF P.M. Brown


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Critique ofIsotria verticillataphotograph.

The focal point or center of the blossom occurs at thepoint of the golden oblong diagonal and right angleintersecting. The contrast of light and dark focuses the viewers eye on the plant. The linear aspects of thebackground literally point the eye towards the center of theblossom. The plant roughly adheres to a triangular outlinecreating a stable pose. The complicated background has beenblurred to enhance rather than compete with the complicatedfloral subject. The only negative criticism is that the darkbackground obscures some of the darker sepals at the top ofthe Isotria.

132


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Empiricist: Picture Perfect Orchids

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PICTURE PERFECT ORCHIDS

The Slow Empiricist

Many amateur photographers have troublecomposing their pictures in a satisfying manner.

When they look at professional works they may feeleven more inadequate. Since I am not a

photographer but a fine artist, I cannot help you

with the technical problems that you mightencounter in picture taking. I can, however, help

you with the artistic end of photography. Fortechnical problems, I suggest consulting other

photographers, joining a photography club where you can find support and answers, or, if they areavailable near you, try taking some photographycourses.

Before this article can help you create moresatisfying results you need to do some analyzing of yourown ideas as to what constitutes a terrific photograph.

You should think what it is you want your pictures toshow. Some nature photographers are interested inshowing the orchid plants exactly as they occur in the

wild. They would never use artificial methods likeputting a blocking screen behind their subject so the


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plant stands out by itself. Flash photography is anathemato them, also. Other photographers employ thesemethods because they like to see dramatic shots as in thecase of flash, or they want the orchid to be seen in anuninterrupted view as when they use some kind ofblocking techniques.

As you ponder what is important to you increating satisfying photos, however, please keep in mindyour own unique talents and personality. When I wasjust starting out to create artistic paintings, I often saw

works by other artists that I thought were simplyincredibly executed. I felt amateurish and awkward and Ilonged to produce work in a similar manner as my idols

were producing. It took me awhile to learn to appreciatemy own talents and stop trying to emulate someoneelse's work who brought a whole different set of skills totheir projects. I guess what I am advising you to becognizant of is for you to know yourself well enough.Do you have the personality to spend several hours in acramped position waiting to catch an elusive pollinatorfor the particular orchid you are photographing? Or areyou more spontaneous? Don't moon over the fact thatyou are not the patient type who can wait for endless

hours to capture a photographic moment that impressesyou when you see someone else's stunning photographthat captures such an elusive moment. You have adifferent talent to exploit! You should be trying to findsubjects that satisfy your different mindset and skills.

I learned a long time ago that if you are not trueto yourself, the veneer that you try to coat your honest


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self with is only a cheap imitation of the real thing. Youhave interests, talents and skills that can be enhancedand should be developed. Don't try to be someone else!It's an exercise in futility, to my way of thinking, and youare worth a lot more than being a carbon copy. If youagree that trying to copy someone else's style is still onlyan imitation of the real thing; you can begin to improveyour own style and talent.

Now that you won't be trying to achieve theimpossible for your skills and interests, let's look at theelements that you might be able to employ to make yourphotos look more professional. Usually a superbphotograph has certain artistic qualities as well as the

photographic techniques that the creator employed.These are the things my art experiences might help yourecognize and put to use in your photography sessions.

These include the compositional qualities, the texturalqualities, the spatial relationships within the pictureplane as well as color, line and the play of light anddark. It isn't easy to employ all these characteristics

when you are still feeling your way with your camera. Itmight be better to concentrate on one element at a timeuntil you have mastered it.

Learning to use artistic tools is like learning todance! First, when you start dancing lessons you are soconcerned with where to place your feet that you movelike a robot. Then, as you become more knowledgeableyou move more gracefully until the action becomes apart of you and is effortless. Then you are really dancing,not just moving your feet in predetermined patterns. So,


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too, when you are first aware of the elements of art andyou start to employ them in your photo shoots, you willbe slower and less sure of what you are doing.

At this point in your exercise you should havebeen thinking about what pictures have really caughtyour eye and you should have come to someunderstanding of what you would like to accomplish

with your picture-taking. Once you have isolated thekind of work that you think is so great (if it fits with your

way of working) you should then be able to apply someof those aforementioned compositional and artistic toolsto enhance your own work. You will then be able to findyour own voice, making your photos speak clearly for

you.

I would like to take you through some rough ideasabout each of the artistic elements that can help improveyour work. We'll start with the element ofcomposition.

Composition

Composition is the process of selecting thearrangement of the parts of your picture. When you are

looking through the viewfinder you do not have to settlefor the first head-on shot that you espy. You can movethe camera around to achieve your desired goal. Here aresome good rules of thumb to keep in mind as you sightfor the perfect composition.

1. Uneven numbers are more dynamic than evennumbers. Example: A shot with one flowering stem is


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usually more effective than two stems. Three is betterthan two are. Take this little test! Hold your hand atarm's length in front of you. Hold up one finger. Youlook at the finger! Hold up two fingers separated like a Vand you look in between at the space. The same thinghappens with the two stems of your orchids if they areseparated. If you can move around so the two stemsoverlap somewhat you can eliminate the vacant spacethat takes away from your main focus, making themseem more like one. With three stems the focus tends tooccur on the central flower. (Examples 1 & 2)

2. Focal points. The second tip concerns whereyou wish to concentrate the main focal point in your

composition. Dead-on-center placement can make thepicture very stable but it may rob the plant of vitality.When you are sighting through your viewfinder observethe outer boundaries of your subject. Again, try movingthe focal point slightly to one side or the other. It mightmake the orchid come alive instead of just looking like it

was stuck in the picture.


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3. The golden oblong. There is a trick thatsome artists use to place the most important object

within the picture plane in a dynamic spot. Picture inyour mind a diagonal from upper right hand corner tothe lower left-hand corner of your photograph, or vice-

versa. Now attach an imaginary line that runs from theunused corner that bisects the diagonal at right angles.

The line may emanate from either unused corner. Theintersection represents one of the ideal spots to locatethe main object of your composition. This is called thegolden oblong! It works better with more rectangularpicture shapes than the size of a photographic slide but it

will help you get away from always centering your focalpoints. (Diagram 1)

Spatial relationships

Every picture can be divided up into areas. Therelationship these areas have to one another constitutestheir spatial relationship. Backgrounds can overwhelma subject if the relationship is too great. A subject canoverwhelm the background if it usurps too much room

in the picture. Most commonly, you are dealing with theappearance of spaces that occur around the main focal

points. When you are setting up your photographicshot, as you look through your viewfinder, check out thesurrounding sizes of the background areas. If theyappear to be even in size you will have a stablebackground to display your subject against. This is abalancing act and shifting the subject within the picture


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plane can affect the balance. Sometimes it is moredynamic to have uneven spatial relationships becausethey will compete more aggressively with the subject andcreate tension within the picture plane.

Line

You have the element ofline to work with inyour composition. Line leads the viewer's eye throughthe picture. Sometimes poorly composed pictures havelines that point the viewer right out of the picture andthe subject becomes lost in the eye's quick exit. Thereare many linear things in orchids you can use to directthe viewer's eye. Successful artists use line to make the

viewer travel through their pictures in a pleasant journey,stopping at the points of interest. Everyone starts atsome point in the picture plane to see what the pictureholds. How cleverly the artist keeps the viewer movingcan enhance both the experience and the import of thepicture.

Plants have stems, which are very linear in nature. They also have shapes that can point, like leaf-shapesthat are triangular, which can point almost like an arrow

to direct your eye. Just to add to the mix, some leaves aremore linear and some are definitely circular. Someorchids have definitely linear floral parts like thesweeping sepals of the large whorled pogonia, Isotriaverticillata(Plate 2., pg. 132). Try to assess what directionsthese components of your orchid are emphasizing withinthe picture plane. If the dominant lines are directing


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your eye out of the picture they will surely do the samefor anyone who views the resulting photograph.

Playing with the linear aspects of your picturetakes time and skill to successfully master. It will meanreally weighing the possibilities and also being aware ofthe significance of this element to detract from yourmain focus.

Shapes

Simple shapes are the easiest to work with.Orchids, however, are far from simple to look at becauseof their myriad qualities. That is probably why you like

to photograph them.

The simple shapes are geometric like the square,rectangle, circle, triangle and oval. If the main mass ofyour subject fits any of these simple shapes you will havea stable subject unless the triangular shape is inverted onits point or any of the other straight-edged shapes areslanted. Then your objects will look out of kilter,crooked, or tipping to one side of the picture. If you lineup thevertical axis (the imaginary line that traverses the

object centrally from top to bottom) with the edge ofyour viewfinder you can avoid having slightly misalignedfocal points that impart a drunken


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and yellow are advancing colors and bound toward thefront of the picture plane. The cooler colors, green, blueand violet, do the opposite and recede into thebackground. That may be why you have troublephotographing little green orchids like the greenadder's mouth,Malaxis unifolia. Busy surface colors thatcan occur in highly colored or decorated floral parts likethe dragon's mouth orchid, Arethusa bulbosa, willcompete for attention in the picture as much as the shy

M. unifoliarecedes into obscurity. Keeping in mind thecharacteristics of the colors of the orchid you are

working with may help you to use them effectively.

Just as too much irregularity ofshape may

overwhelm your photograph, too much of one colormay wrap your picture in dull fog where the subject islost. When there is little in the way of color differenceyou may have to use value to make your subject havesome life of its own. Shafts of sunlight that illuminatethe plant, or that play in the background, can introducethe contrast that may be lacking.

When there is so much color contending for theviewer's attention, you may find it expedient to zoom in

on a single element like one stem and blossom ratherthan trying to photograph the entire clump.

Texture

Texture is the look of the surface of the objects. You are working with such things as smooth, shiny, woolly, rough, and so on. Natural backgrounds often


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give the appearance of being complicated and confusing. All the lines, shapes and textures can compete withyour main emphasis. This is where you have to decidehow important the background elements are going to be.Some texture can add interest and life to your picture,but too much can make it look like one of those 1,000piece jigsaw puzzles that have so much occurring youhave trouble focusing on one part of the picture. Youmay want to use blocking devises like a plain backgroundsheet to set up behind your subject to simplify thepicture. Or you may want to do a little forest clean up(so long as you don't endanger the orchid by removingtoo much natural material) to make your subject standout better.

Texture adds an interesting dimension to thephotograph, but a little can go a long way. Usingcommon sense can help you avoid overloading thepicture with confusing textural elements. A beautiful

woman would not bedeck herself with all the jewelry sheowns, nor would a handsome man deck himself in all hisjewelry to make his beauty stand out. Both attempts

would look silly as well as confounding the eye of thebeholder. There are camera techniques that can soft-

focus out some of the confusingtextures that naturallyoccur and let the main focal point stand out. Close-uptechniques, which bring the subject much nearer, alsocan reduce the confusion of too much backgroundtexture.


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Dark and Light

Dark and light areas in your picture can play a very dramatic part in the final look of your subject. Apicture taken with flash creates some highly dramatic

shots because the backgrounds often become completelyblack and that makes the subject jump out of the pictureplane at the viewer. If you like to use the natural light ofthe sun as it comes through the overhanging canopy oftrees (if you have a woodland orchid subject) you cancreate some stunning visual effects. A good rule ofthumb is that lighter objects contrast against darkerobjects, and vice versa. The shapes of the light and darkareas can direct the eye toward your main focal point justlike any other shape can.

To sum up what I have tried to impart to youabout perfecting your photographic artistry, here are thekeys. Be aware of the number of focal points you arephotographing, and try to manipulate them so they don'tcompete. Uneven numbers work in simplifyingcompositional elements. If you can get the floral partof the orchid to occur at the point of the goldenoblong you may have created a dynamic picture thatplaces the subject in an ideal location in the picture

plane. Learning to control the spatial relationships thatoccur will bring balance to the photograph. If thelinear aspects lead the viewer's eye on a journey throughthe entire picture plane you are another step towardperfection. If you have kept your subject's mass within areasonably simple shape you may have added moreexpertise to the photograph. Playing with the shapes togive balance to them will stabilize your final result.


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Finally, what you have done with the color and texturalelements and the play of light and darkadd the gracenotes to your final work of art. There is a lot to belearned and it won't come in a few attempts so I wishyou the perseverance to keep on trying. As a partingshot, the truly innovative artist can thumb his/her noseat these "rules" and create stunning, imaginative piecesof artwork that open new avenues for expression thatlesser lights never thought could happen. I suspect thereare photographers out there who can do the very samething.The Slow Empiricist


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Parsons: Orchid Hunting in Florida

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ORCHID HUNTING IN FLORIDADURING JANUARY AND FEBRUARY

M. J. Parsons

I am known as a snowbird, as I visit Florida eachyear normally during January and February. I comefrom England and stay usually between two and six

weeks trying to capture the Sunshine State's beautifulweather. I come with my wife, mother and father-in-lawand sometimes a few friends. I am an orchidophile, and

have visited many sites in Great Britain and Europe andhave also travelled as far as Turkey and Israel in the Eastand the Canary Islands in the West.

As I know that Florida has over 120 species oforchids I thought that finding them would be adoddlehow wrong I was! The climate at this time ofyear is similar to spring in southern Europe, where it isquite easy to find many species of orchids at one site, but

this it seems is not the case in Florida. I soon found outthat there are very few species that flower at this time ofthe year and the ones that do flower are, it appears, fairlyrare. Of course, there are a few epiphytes that do flowerat this time of the year. Although some species flowerduring the whole year, they are far up in the trees and itis hard for the inexperienced eye to decipher the genus


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the orchid now was because I had arrived during a coldspell and the orchid was in bloom still in January andFebruary. I understand the best time for flowering is inDecember.

The third year I came to Florida was in March andI saw one early ladies'-tresses, Spiranthes praecox, atCorkscrew Wildlife Sanctuary and the grass-leavedladies'-tresses, Spiranthes vernalis, in the Everglades. Ifound many other orchid leaves, but unfortunately nonein flower, such as wild coco, Eulophia alta, the pale-flowered polystachya, Polystachya concreta, and theFlorida clam-shell orchid, Prosthechea cochleata var.triandra. There could have been many others but I was

not experienced enough to put a name to them. At last Iwas seeing some other orchids in flower, but still I had along way to go to see over 100 orchids. I wondered,"Where do they hide!"

The fourth year I visited many state parks, but I foundthat there were very few rangers that knew anythingabout the plants. It seems that most rangers areemployed for security rather than their knowledge of the

wildlife. On visiting Corkscrew Wildlife Sanctuary I at

last found somebody who knew a little about orchids,who told me that there was only one species in bloom,being the shadow-witch orchid, Ponthieva racemosa. I wasthen told that I could not visit the area, as there was noone available to escort me. I said that was no problem ifthey gave me directions but I was then informed that I

was not allowed to go because of the pygmy rattlesnakesin the area, and they did not want to lose any customers!!


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Fortunately they told me a good site for burrowing owlsnearby which compensated for the lack of orchids.

In the fourth year, however, I did manage to findPonthieva racemosawith an unusual raceme, andWister'scoralroot, Corallorhiza wisteriana, a yellowish/browncoralroot orchid in Highlands Hammock State Park.Now orchid hunting was looking a little better, but I stillhad a long way to go.

My fifth year was my best, I joined the NorthAmerican Native Orchid Allianceand got in touch with PaulMartin Brown and Stan Folsom, who were staying inFlorida at the same time as myself. We arranged to visit

Highlands together, and we saw more of the orchidsmentioned previously. We were mainly looking forEltroplectris calcarata, the spurred neottia, but had noluck. Paul pointed out several epiphytesin the treesthegreen-fly orchis, Epidendrum conopseum, the Floridabutterfly orchid,Encyclia tampensis,which I then realisedI had seen in Myakka State Park and Kissimee StatePark. Paul also pointed out the leafless Harrisella,Harrisella porrecta,on an orange tree exactly in the sameplace as Luer described in his book.


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Corallorhiza wisterianaWisters coralroot


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Spiranthes praecoxGiant ladies-tresses


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Unfortunately none of these species were in flower.However, we did find a good site on the way toHighlands in a spot where a small housing estate wasmeant to be built. Thank goodness, it had not beenconstructed! In the ditches were many water spiderorchids, Habenaria repens, in flower. This speciesapparently flowers during the whole year and seems tobe more of an aquatic orchid.

Since that day, on Paul's advice, I visited anothergood site near Belleview, for Corallorhiza wisteriana, wherethere could be over a thousand. If mosquitoes are thepollinators to this orchid then no wonder that thisorchid was abundant! I then found speckled ladies'-

tresses, Cyclopogon cranichoides,in Alexander Springs StatePark, but only in bud, and the many-flowered ladies'-tresses, Mesadenus polyanthus, near Floral City in CitrusCounty. Both these species had previously been listedunder Spiranthes, and the latter, which was in flower,looked like a cross between Spiranthes and Coralroot. I

was very pleased to find this orchid, especially as the firstplant I found was in prime condition and had over 50florets. In the book it is described as only havingbetween 10 and 40 florets, which proved more or less

correct with the rest of the colony, which were severalyards from my prime flower. The only other orchidfound was the southern twayblade, Listera australis,

which was found in the city limits of Gainesville. Thisorchid was just as difficult to find as the heart-leavedtwayblade, Listera cordata, especially as it was hidingamong a colony of ferns. This orchid was just as pretty


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and I was fortunate to have a green and purple orchidnext to one another.

It looks that if orchid hunting is to progress in theearly months then I must visit the Fakahatchee StrandState Preserve. Although over 30 species can be seen ina day, the area could well be under water and walking

would involve wading from boot level to waist deep. Ofcourse, that is not the only problem, tangledundergrowth, snakes, sleeping alligators, mosquitoes, as

well as getting disorientated, have to be taken intoaccount but I have a few months yet to plan my next tripto Florida.

M. J. Parsons, 14 Chestnut Avenue, Billericay, Essex CM12 9JF,England.


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Sampliner: Triphoraand Ciliaris

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TRIFLING WITH TRIPHORA

AND SILLY OTHERCILIARISTom Sampliner

Billowy cumulus clouds chased each other acrossa blue sky on Wednesday, August 6th, 1997. It was aperfect day for August, or any other month for thatmatter. Temperature was in the 70's with both gentlebreezes and low humidity, a rare combination during our

summers in Ohio. In response to a last-minuteinvitation from fellow Native Orchid Alliance memberClete Smith of Pittsburgh, I was to drive there for arendezvous and join an expedition to known sites for thethree birds orchid,Triphora trianthophoraand theyellowfringed orchid, Platanthera ciliaris, with prospects forothers.

Our destination was Norton, West Virginia withanother Alliance member, Dr. Doug Jolly, who wouldjoin us at Weston, West Virginia. These areas are somethat time has gently passed by, keeping changes tomodest proportions. Knowing how Clete works from aone-half day I had spent with him, I was thankful themuse of sleep had been kind and generous the nightbefore this trip. I knew full well my companions woulduse every second of available light in the field.


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Specifically, that would mean dinner at 8-9 P.M., locally,followed by the drive back to Pittsburgh where I wouldretrieve my car. That would leave me at midnight orlater to commence my lonely ride home. Bet I surprisedmy three cats with an arrival at 2:30 A.M. Are we orchidhunters crazy or what?

Back to the pleasant, descriptive portion ofthis article. A drive south of Pittsburgh into West

Virginia is scenic anytime. Rounded rolling hills fill your field of vision. Mists and low clouds seem to play a constant game of tag with the mountains. Those puffy, white clouds bouncing along providefascinating contrasts with the bands of green

vegetation and the purple of the mountains. You wish you could stop to enjoy and photograph somany passing scenes. Time, however, on a journeysuch as this, permits no such luxury.

At Weston, we bid adieu to I-79 and headed eastalong Rt. 33 to reach the Norton area. It was there thatI was to make my first acquaintance with the habitat andthe plant, the three birds orchid. The habitat wasmixed woods generously strewn with boulders of all

different sizes, each liberally covered with ferns, mossesand mushrooms. E.T. could have appeared at anymoment. The forest was second growth; however, acurious local informed us that tree rustlers were aproblem. Apparently our professed interest in

wildflowers, rather than trees, satisfied the concernedinquiry.


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Perhaps the most common ground cover was violets in fruit. Also frequent were the multiple-tieredfruiting stalks of Indian cucumber root, Medeola virginica.Rhododendrons told of great beauty earlier in theseason. The most prolific groups of Triphora wereadjacent to the dirt road. One may conclude thatdisturbance is helpful to this species. According to thehistorical perspective supplied by my knowledgeablecompanions, blooming for this species has provennotoriously fickle. Unfortunately, our visit was to provepremature to catch these orchids in bloom. Those we

were to see this date were still in rather tight bud. Toobad, as we saw clusters of 15-25 which would have madeimpressive pictures.

We all agreed that once you actually see the habitatfor a species it becomes far easier to pick out growingplants no matter at what stage of growth. It was strikinghow each of the several sites we visited could havepassed as mirror images of each other. I should add thatin addition to the boulders, there were penetrations of

various rock formations extending as ledges. Walkingaround can be quite an adventure.


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Triphora trianthophorathree birds orchid


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Platanthera peramoenaPurple fringeless orchid


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Goodyera pubescensdowny rattlesnake orchis


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Platanthera ciliarisorange fringed orchid


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Each site did have liberal doses of the rattlesnakeplantain orchid,Goodyera pubescens. A number were infull bloom. The reticulated leaves make an attractiveground cover. Ferns and mushrooms were everywhere.

On our way to our last hope for three birds inbloom this day, we passed a roadside open area laden

with blueberries and many old field favorites. Now Idon't know about you, but I wouldn't normally equatespecies like Queen Ann's lace, Daucus carota, purpleclover, Trifolium pratense, common St. John's-wort,Hypericum perforatum, tupelo, Nyssa sylvaticaanddewberries,Rubus flagellaris,with orchids. I am more aptto think of orchids when some less common species

such as: spotted wintergreen, Chimiphila maculata, bigbluestem, Andropogon gerardi, and that attractive treemember of the Ericaceae, sourwood,Oxydendrum arboreum,add their presence to the site. However, I am now abeliever, as this was not only my first view of theyellowfringed orchid, Platanthera ciliaris, in bloom, but it wasplentiful and clearly in peak bloom. Many plants were atleast 12" high and of so bright an orange that theyliterally jump out of the road sides at you.

As we walked among them, Doug was the first tospot yellow bartonia, Bartonia virginica, exhibiting smallyellow racemes, very stiff and erect, and its oppositeleaves. Theyellow fringed orchid grew from the sandyopenings into the woodland. At one spot the groundrapidly descended into what obviously was a coal scrape.Even down there the Platanthera ciliaris had penetrated.


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I concluded that disturbance was agreeable to thisspecies. The orange/green color combination is striking;even more so is the image obtained when you isolate afloret filling the frame through a macro lens. This sitereminds me of many portions of our oak openings.Curiously enough, that is northern Ohio's only currentsite for this orchid. Perhaps this harkens back to thethought that a mental image of the type of habitat isquite important for use as a homing beacon whenexploring for your target of the day.

Our last site for the day was on private property;folks known to my companions, who were generous in

their playing host to orchid hunters such as our motleycrew. An upland woods provided the now familiarhabitat. However, once again we were only to seeorchids in tight bud and not nearly in the quantity mycompanions expected from prior years' visits. Today the

woods only showed offGoodyera. However, the lady ofthe house didn't want us to leave disappointed so shedirected us to walk down along a creek where afterseveral years absence, a purple fringeless orchid,Platanthera peramoena, decided it was time to reappear.

Due to the relentless attack by deer, it was necessary toprotect this valued specimen with a wire cage enclosure.In the field was a pleasant and plentiful supply ofragged fringed orchid, Platanthera lacera, many still infine condition.

As we left the farm in that golden glow of latedaylight, we would revisit the ciliaris site now that the


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wind had completely ceased for the day. Photography isat its finest when those final golden rays at the end ofthe day bathe everything in dramatic light. As weretraced our steps to the Platanthera ciliaris,we saw a mostcurious sight, a herd of deer were grazing. Several first-year animals were romping along the inside perimeter ofthe fence while the adults concentrated on the importantbusiness of grazing. The youngsters were fast losing theremnants of their white spots, and were almostcompletely able to blend in with the rest of the herd.

These fawns seemed impressed with our passing and were stimulated to put on a performance, withoutrequest, of cavorting up and down the fence line. Asidefrom looking up to assure that we were no threat, the

adults merely continued with business.

I sure wished I had time to photograph thesourwood trees. I had to be content with the last viewsof the orchids. My flash equipped companions wereable to persevere longer than I. However, I was quitecontent to slowly pack up my gear and contemplate themany wonderful things seen this day. Stars were startingto appear. As we hit the main highway and becomeconcerned with such mundane matters as dinner, I was

seeing star formations that I could only dream about inthe light-polluted confines of home. At dinner, I wasfamished; I hadn't eaten since just prior to rendezvous

with Clete in Pittsburgh. I realized the ordeal ahead ofme. It would be midnight before retrieving my car andthen commencing my 2 1/2 hour journey home alone.Guess what dominates the highways that time of night?

Trucks! My wondrous day-journey would drift far into


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the night. To echo a refrain from country music greats,The Kendalls, "Thank God for the radio." That's what gotme home.

Thomas A. Sampliner, 2651 Kerwick, University Heights, Ohio

44118Tom is a regular contributor to the Journaland last wrote onLadies-tresses of Ohio in the June 1997 issue.


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Sheviak & Bracht: New Chromosomes Numbers in Platanthera

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NEW CHROMOSOME NUMBER

DETERMINATIONS IN PLATANTHERA

Charles J. Sheviak and Michelle Bracht

Chromosome numbers can be useful intaxonomic analyses because they can impose limits onthe interpretation of other data and indicate mechanismsof variation and evolution. In some situations they canhelp delimit species. Accordingly, we have obtained thefollowing numbers in support of systematic studies ofthe Platanthera hyperborea (L.) Lindley complex. All

vouchers are deposited at NYS.

P. dilatata(Pursh) Lindl. var. dilatataSheviak 2391aNew York: Warren Co. 2n=42

P. dilatata (Pursh) Lindl. var. albiflora (Cham.)

Ledeb.Sheviak & Sheviak 2274aColorado: Boulder Co 2n=42; 21IISheviak & Jennings 2440Colorado: Boulder Co. 2n=42


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Sheviak 5894Colorado: Boulder Co. 2n=42; 21II

P. dilatata (Pursh) Lindl. var. leucostachys(Lindl.)LuerSheviak 2486aNevada: Elko Co. 2n=ca.42Sheviak 2491bCalifornia: Sierra Co. 2n=42Sheviak & Sheviak 2918cCalifornia: Sierra Co. 2n=42

P. huronensis(Nutt.) Lindl.

Sheviak 2289Colorado: Grand Co. 2n=42II

Sheviak & Mitchell 1530New York: Oswego Co. 2n=ca.84Sheviak & Sheviak 3092bBritish Columbia: Vermillion Crossing 2n=84Sheviak & Sheviak 5504a

Alaska: Kenai Penninsula 2n=84; 42IISheviak 5888a

Colorado: Pitkin Co. 2n=84

P. hyperborea(L.) Lindl.Sheviak 2011aNew York: Clinton Co. 2n=42


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Sheviak 2340Minnesota: Clay Co. 2n=42Sheviak 2732Manitoba: Sundown 2n=42; 21IISheviak & Sheviak 5474

Alaska: Brooks Range 2n=42

P. purpurascens(Rydb.) Shev. & Jenngs.Sheviak et al. 2428aColorado: Clear Creek Co. 2n=42Sheviak & Burling 2645i

Arizona: Graham Co. 2n=63

Sheviak 5895a

Colorado: Boulder Co. 2n=42; 21II

P. strictaLindl.Sheviak & Sheviak 5500c

Alaska: Talkeetna Mountains 2n=42


Ledeb. P. huronensis(Nutt.) Lindl.Sheviak & Sheviak 3092aBritish Columbia: Vermilion Crossing 2n=ca.63

Sheviak & Sheviak 3092cBritish Columbia: Vermilion Crossing 2n=63


Ledeb. P. purpurascens(Rydb.) Shev. & Jenngs.


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Sheviak 5863bColorado: Boulder Co. 2n=42; 21IISheviak 5896aColorado: Boulder Co. 2n=42; 21II

Sheviak 5896bColorado: Boulder Co. 2n=42

Sheviak 5897aColorado: Boulder Co. 2n=42

Sheviak 5897cColorado: Boulder Co. 2n=42

Sheviak 5897dColorado: Boulder Co. 2n=42

Undetermined hybrid simulatingP. huronensisbut with a very short, strongly clavate to almost saccate spur.Perhaps P. dilatata (Pursh) Lindl. var. albiflora

(Cham.) Ledeb. P. huronensis(Nutt.) Lindl., butP. huronensis was not evident at the site. Possibly P.

dilatata var. albiflora P. purpurascens involving an

unreduced gamete (these being the two taxa present with5863a ) or other combinations of these three likelyparentals.

Sheviak 5863aColorado: Boulder Co. 2n=ca.63


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Folsom: FLORIDAS DANCING LADY

173

LOOKING FORWARD

SEPTEMBER 1998

Proceedings of the3rd North American Native Orchid Conference

July 8-11, 1998Lake Itasca, Minnesota

And more!


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FLORIDAS DANCING LADY

Stan Folsom

This is a true story of orchid vulnerability,especially of an uncommon species, which makesthe telling of it highly astounding. I thought rareand endangered species were protected. What Ilearned was quite the contrary. Still, it shocked methat there are widespread problems here in Florida.

This is the story of what is happening to FloridasDancing Lady, Tolumnia bahamense, (synonymOncidium bahamense),an orchid that is so rare thatit is only known from one area. It occurs in andaround the area of the Jonathan Dickinson StatePark near Jupiter, Florida.

To begin my tale, let me relate that I accompaniedPaul Martin Brown on a day trip to view the orchid at

the park. It was a hot day in the low 90s Fahrenheitwitha brisk breeze, which helped ease the stress of the hightemperature. We left Ocala early in the morning with ourtwo dogs that enjoy riding along on our orchidexpeditions. The early departure would give us plenty oftime to explore along the way as well as give themaximum time at the actual site.


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to see if we could find the original site for the Tolumnia.It was an old cemetery where at one time it was thoughtthat the original Tolumnia had been brought from theBahamas as decorations for the graves. The plants hadseeded into the cemetery and surrounding areas.However, the present status of these plants was veryshaky as the area had been expanded and upgraded byhousing developments and the resulting gentrification.

We left the park and followed directions to theroad where the old cemetery was but we could only finda neatly manicured, modern cemetery with carefullymaintained grounds. We drove in to see if there was anolder section, but none was evident as all parts were

mown closely and kept up. The back of the cemetery was in disarray, however, with a large portion of thewooded, scrubby area being bulldozed to make room formore gravesites. After leaving this cemetery, which wefelt must not be the right one because it didnt fit ouridea of an old cemetery, we went all the way to the endof the road and did not find any evidence of anothercemetery. We were discouraged. Paul thought thatpossibly they had moved the graves to make room forthe developments. I felt that was not likely and insisted

we find someone to ask.

Paul agreed to stop for information and pulledinto a garden shop that was just up the street from thecemetery we had explored. Again, I waited with the dogs

while Paul went into the shop. It seemed like he wastaking forever in the shop, when he came out all grins. Itseems the shop manager, a Carol Wilson, lived next to


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the cemetery and there were dancing ladies on herproperty. She invited us to drive over and explore andtake one if we so desired because They pop upeverywhere!

Carol related that the cemetery was moved someyears ago from another site that frequently flooded. Theoldest graves dated to 1920. Ames first found theTolumnia in 1905, so it is unlikely that the legend ofplants brought over from the Bahamas is credible, atleast at this present site.

We were also told to explore the bulldozed areabecause these orchids occurred there as well. We

followed Carols directions and found about eightblooming plants in her yard. We met her companion who showed us their collection of orchids in thegreenhouse they maintained on the property. Then Itook Paul over to the cemetery and let him out toexplore the back area.

He found many plants in the scrub and one thathad twenty-four blooming stems! This one was right inthe path of the bulldozer!

Now comes the unbelievable part! I have beentold that in the state of Florida, construction workers,road builders and the like can do anything they like toclear areas. People who want to rescue rare plants haveto go through so many channels to get that permissionthat often the plants are destroyed before they can berescued. To me, that is just incredible! I understand the


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intent is to prevent those unscrupulous characters, whothink nothing of digging up wild flowers for their owndevious ends, from doing just that. There should besome happy medium, which would allow for a quickresolution to an impending disaster for the threatenedplants, however. Possibly a state botanist or otherofficial could be given the go-ahead to cut through thered tape when the situation demands immediate action.

Another possibility might be for a more closelymonitoring being done of existing sites so that whenprogress threatens an area, action can be initiated. Lastly,there should be some mechanism for the concernedparties to work out a compromise that is agreeable to theinterested parties. Surely, there can be a better set of

controls put in place that would stop progress for thetime it takes to work out viable options that wouldsatisfy the builders and shakers and allow the plants tosurvive.

Stan Folsom, 10896 SW 90th Terrace, Ocala, FL 34481. Stan isan artist whose line drawings frequently accompany many of thearticles in theJournal.


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Tolumnia bahamensisdancing lady

Palm Beach Co., FLP.M. Brown

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Sacoila lanceolatavar lanceolata Sacoila lanceolatavarpaludicolared ladies-tresses Fahkahatchee ladies-tressesHendry Co., FL Collier Co., FLPhotos by P.M. Brown

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Brown:Whatever Happened to all of the Spiranthes?!

181

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO ALL

THOSE SPIRANTHES?!

Paul Martin Brown

The genus Spiranthes, the ladies'-tresses, in thestrictest sense, is one of the most recognizable in all ofthe orchids on the earth. They have small, numerous

white or cream flowers arranged in a spike, most often ina spiral fashion. The only color exception to this is S.

sinensisof Asia and Australia, which is usually bright pink.

As various times in their botanical history manyother species have been included within the genusSpiranthes. These species may have been originallydescribed as a Spiranthesor, most often, in closely alliedgenera, and then merged by later taxonomists intoSpiranthes.

The various segregate genera are really quite easy

to distinguish as none of them have small, white orcream flowers arranged in a spiral fashion. The flowersare usually very small, brown or green or occasionally

white or in some instance brilliant scarlet. Like the trueSpiranthes they do possess basal leaves, either linear orobovate, and those leaves may or may not extend up thestem and merge into bracts. The various segregate


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genera have very specific characteristics and are confinedto the southern portions of North America, oftenextending further south to the Caribbean and South

America. In the United States these segregate genera arefound in Florida, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.

In Correll (1950), the two volumes by Luer, (Luer1973, 1975) and most other field guide or local floras allof these segregate genera are included within the genusSpiranthes. Garay (1980) and Balogh (1982) bothpublished extensive revisions to the group with definitedelimitations for the segregate genera. Catling (1990)presented a brief synopsis of the genera and species andsubsequently some current authors have adopted some

of the segregate genera, but not necessarily all of them. There has been a real sense of staying away from aperceived controversy over the segregate genera. Intruth, these various genera are well defined and generallyagreed upon. The only real confusion came with thechoice ofBeadleaor Cyclopogon. This was settled when aspecimen was collected that was a typical Beadlea and itproved to be the type for Cyclopogon! In additionanother plant was collected that was clearly intermediatebetween the two genera. In this case the genus

Cyclopogonhas priority.


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Schiedeella fauci-sanguinea = Spiranthes parasiticaStenorrhynchos michuacanum = Spiranthes michuacanaStenorrhynchos lanceolatum = Sacoila lanceolatavar. lanceolata

The following synopses will attempt to present thediffering characteristics between and among the genera.

Beloglottis costaricensis: to 30 cm tall; rosette of green leaveswithering at flowering time; tiny white and green stripedflowers; very rare in southern Florida

Cyclopogon cranichoides: to 40 cm tall; rosettes of purple castgreen leaves that are present at flowering time; spike

speckled with purple; flowers greenish-brown with a white lip; found scattered throughout southern andnorth-central FloridaC. elatus: similar to the above but with greenish-brownflowers that appear to not fully open; very rare; found(formerly) in widely scattered sites in southern andnorth-central Florida

Deiregyne durangensis: 20-40 cm tall; large pale pink andgreen striped flowers, leaves linear and absent at

flowering time; found (formerly) only in southwestern Texas (Garay refers all the US specimens to Deiregyneconfusa and differs from D. durangensis in havingglandular-pubescent sepals and a differentlyproportioned lip.

Dichromanthus cinnabarinus: 30-50 cm tall; dark greenleaves ascending the stem becoming bracts, present at


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flowering time; large, brilliant vermilion and yellowflowers; found only in southwestern Texas

Mesadenus polyanthus: to 40 cm tall; leaves present atflowering time, withering soon after; tiny flowers rosy-brown flowers; very slender and almost invisible in theoak woodlands; found only in central Florida

Pelexia adnata: to 70 cm tall; erect basal leaves with longpurplish petioles; flowers small with green petals and a

white lip, floral bract long and conspicuous; found onlyin southern Florida

Sacoila lanceolata var. lanceolata: one of the showiest of all

of the orchids of Florida; colorful, large, brick-redflowers on spikes up to 60 cm tall; leaves absent atflowering time; found throughout southern and centralFlorida, primarily on roadsides!S. lanceolatavar. paludicola: differs from the preceding

variety in that it has leaves present at flowering time,few, smaller but more brilliantly colored flowers and isrestricted to the Fakahatchee Strand area in southernFlorida (occasional reports from other similar areas insouth Florida)

Schiedeella fauci-sanguinea: to 30 cm tall; leaves in a basalrosette and not present at flowering time; tiny whiteflowers with a bright red blotch on the underside of thelip;found from southeastern Arizona to western Texas

Stenorrhynchos michuacanum: 20-40 cm tall; leaves in a basalrosette somewhat ascending the stem; absent at


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flowering time; flowers more or less a one sided raceme,green and whitefound from southeastern Arizona to

western Texas

Paul Martin Brown, editor NANOJ

Literature Cited:Balogh, P.B. 1982. Generic redefinition of subtribe Spiranthinae.

American Journal of Botany69:1119-1132.Catling, P.M. 1990 Biology of the North American

Representatives of the Subfamily Spiranthoideae in North American Native Terrestrial Orchid Propagation and Production,Brandywine Conservancy, Chadds Ford

Correll, D.S. 1950, Native Orchids of North America. ChronicaBotanica, Waltham

Garay, L.A. 1980. A Generic Revision of the Spiranthinae.

Botanical Museum Leaflets 28(4), Harvard University,Cambridge

Luer, C.A. 1972. Native Orchids of Florida, NY Botanical Garden,Bronx

1975. Native Orchids of the United States and Canadaexcluding Florida. NY Botanical Garden, Bronx


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3rd ANNUAL NORTH AMERICANNATIVE ORCHID CONFERENCE

Lake Itasca State Park, MinnesotaJuly 8, 9, 10 & 11, 1998

We will begin at noon on July 8th and continue with speakers'meetings and a wide variety of programs and workshops on July9th. Field trips on the 10th & 11th will present an opportunity to seea diversity of native orchids in full flower. The two specialties ofthe conference will be

Malaxis paludosaBOG ADDER'S-MOUTH

and a special trip to the international boundary in Manitoba to see

Platanthera praeclaraWESTERN PRAIRIE FRINGED ORCHIS

in one of the largest stands knownin 1996 over 20,000 flowering stems were seen!!

Speakers include:

Welby Smith, author, Orchids of MinnesotaBill Steele, Spangle Creek LabsLarry Zettler, Illinois College

Lorne Heshka, Orchids of Manitoba

Dianne Plunkett, photographing orchidsMark Larocque, PiperiamysteriesPaul Martin Brown, Color Variation and Form

Margaret From, Platanthera praeclaraNancy Cowden, Platanthera ciliariscomplex

our featured speaker will be


78/78

Dr. Paul M. Catling

Ottawa, Canada, co-author Orchids of Ontario"Recent Advances in the Systematics and Ecology of North

American Orchids"and will feature an overview of discoveries since Luer's

publications and an analysis of what lead to these discoveries.

To register for the conference send your check for $45 per person to:

North American Native Orchid AlliancePO Box 759

Acton, Maine 04001-0759

Space is limited to 75 persons.Due to a few cancellations we still have some space left - do not delay to

send in your registration!

To reserve rooms or campground space at Lake Itasca State Park call1-800-246-2267

This is a general reservation number for all of the Minnesota State Parks so bespecific about your needs at Itascait is a very popular park and you need early

reservations.

NOTE:If you are an individual and cannot get a room that you want call or write the

NANOA office as there are a few people going that have a second bed in theirroom

The field trips for the Malaxiswill be held in small groups to several differentsites to minimize impact on the plants.

Documents

June 1998 North American Native Orchid Journal