question about wild orchids of washington state

[queburger]

does anyone in washington state know of wild native orchids and where i can go to see them & take pics come spring/summer?

[ronaldhanko]

Hi, and welcome to OB.

I can help with many of the native orchids but there are quite a few of them blooming at different times. Perhaps the best thing to do is tell me what you want to see and I can tell you when and where. If you want to see a list and pictures, I would suggest the website of the Washington Native Orchid Society and would even suggest that you become a member and join us for our monthly excursions. The schedule is not yet set for this coming spring and summer, but will be posted on our website as soon as it is available.

Washington Native Orchid Society-About Us
Native Orchids of the Pacific Northwest and the Canadian Rockies

[margitks]

Hello queburger,
That is a very interesting question, especially since I live in the South Puget Sound area.
I am hoping to see responses with orchid names in this thread.

Happy New Year and happy growing,
Margit

[ronaldhanko]

I should mention that I am not going to post specific information on locations here lest unscrupulous folk visit the locations and destroy or try to remove the orchids. There has been too much of that.

[queburger]

my grandparents own a bunch of land and i wanted to know if i could find some wild orchids on the property its a marsh lands and swamp and some woods type of area i really want to take pics of them that would be so great if there were wild orchids on the property. I was mostly wanting to find Fairy Slipper but any wild orchid would make me so happy to pic i dont care what kind it is. do you think there is a guide book that can identify wild orchids in the washington state. thanks for all the great info and help when i get pics if i get pics i will post for you guys to see

[ronaldhanko]

The only way to find out if there are orchids on the property is to search it carefully at regular intervals remembering that flowering times are affected by altitude. You are most likely to find Fairy Slippers or some of the Coralroots.

A book that is easy to obtain is Wild Orchids of the Pacific Northwest and Canadian Rockies by Paul Martin Brown.

[queburger]

someone gave me this info maybe it will be usefull to you guys
There are 41 Native Orchids in Washington State.


Calypso bulbosa var. americana or Pacific or Eastern Fairy Slipper

Calypso bulbosa var. occidentalis or Pacific or Western Fairy Slipper

Cephalanthera austiniae or Phantom Orchid

Coeloglossum viride var. virescens or American Frog Orchid

Corallorhiza maculata var. maculata or Spotted Coralroot

Corallorhiza maculata var. occidentalis or Western Spotted Coralroot

Corallorhiza maculata var. ozettensis or Ozette Coralroot

Corallorhiza mertensiana or Western Coralroot

Corallorhiza striata var. striata or Striped Coralroot

Corallorhiza striata var. vreelandii or Vreeland's Striped Coralroot

Corallorhiza trifida or Northern Coralroot

Cypripedium fasciculatum or Cluster Lady's Slipper

Cypripedium montanum or Mountain Lady's Slipper

Cypripedium parviflorum var. makasin or Northern Small Yellow Lady's Slipper

Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens or Large Yellow Lady's Slipper

Epipactis gigantea or Stream Orchid

Epipactis helleborine or Broad-Leaved Helleborine

Goodyera oblongifolia or Menzies' Rattlesnake Plantain

Liparis loeselii or Loesel's Twayblade

Listera banksiana or syn. Listera caurina or Northwestern Twayblade

Listera borealis or Northern Twayblade

Listera convallarioides or Broad-Leaved Twayblade

Listera cordata var. nephrophylla or Western Heartleaf Twayblade

Piperia candida or Slender White Piperia

Piperia elegans subsp. elegans or Elegant Piperia

Piperia elongata or Wood Rein-Orchid

Piperia transversa or Flat-Spurred Piperia

Piperia unalascensis or Alaskan Piperia

Platanthera aquilonis or Northern Green Bog-Orchid

Platanthera chorisiana or Chamisso's Orchid

Platanthera dilatata var. albiflora or White Bog-Orchid

Platanthera dilatata var. dilatata or Tall White Bog-Orchid

Platanthera dilatata var. leucostachys or Fragrant Bog-Orchid

Platanthera huronensis or Green Bog-Orchid

Platanthera obusata subsp. obtusata or Blunt-leaf Rein-Orchid

Platanthera orbiculata or Large Round-Leaved Orchid

Platanthera sparsiflora or Few-Flowered Rein-Orchid

Platanthera stricta or Slender Bog-Orchid

Spiranthes diluvialis or Ute Ladies' Tresses

Spiranthes porrifolia or Western Ladies' Tresses

Spiranthes romanzoffiana or Hooded Ladies' Tresses

theres a book Wild orchids of the Pacific Northwest and Canadian Rockies by Brown, Paul Martin

[margitks]

Queburger and Ron,
Thank you very much for all this information.
I had no idea how many native orchids species there are here in Washington!
The link to the Washington Native Orchid Society has been hugely informative and interesting.

Thank you again.

[ronaldhanko]

Originally Posted by margitks

Queburger and Ron,
Thank you very much for all this information.
I had no idea how many native orchids species there are here in Washington!
The link to the Washington Native Orchid Society has been hugely informative and interesting.

Thank you again.

If you are interested in joining us for some of our excursions, they are usually very easy walks and a schedule will be posted on the WNOS site in a month or so.