Found wild Cyp. candidum!!!

[The Orchid Boy]

5/27/13- I went out searching for Cyp. candidum today. This location is only 40 miles from where I live. I got the location from someone from the Omaha Orchid Society. I didn't find any... It just rained a lot last night and there was water everywhere... even on the road. I didn't see any plants at all. How tall are they? Could they be covered with water?

Ditches where I looked









Tree in water



Water on the road



I'll email the orchid society member again and see if he can find some or if he has a better idea of where they are.

5/28/13- I'm so happy! I found roughly 17 plants today. About half were in bloom, the other half were in bud! This is my first time seeing orchids growing naturally so I'm super excited.

Blooms





Size comparison





Plants. Most were only 2 or 3 feet off the road down a little in the ditch, should be mostly protected from road graders.





The media they were growing in. A mix of gravel, sand, and clay with dead grass for mulch and live grass for a little shade.



Quote from member on another forum:

what a shame, can't be legally harvested but can be plowed under 'en masse' in the name of progress

I know, how aweful.
Here's 2 little articles everyone might enjoy.
http://www.orchidconservationcoaliti...cypcanfrom.pdf
OCC: C candidum

---------- Post added at 04:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:41 PM ----------

More pictures...

[samarak]

Beautiful, thanks for sharing the pictures. Finding Cyps in the wild is always a thrill. Is this their typical blooming time in your area?

Steve

[Phal grower]

That is very cool. I'm from the Fremont area so it's good to know they're out there in "the wild". I should go hunting sometime. Thanks for sharing.

[naoki]

Cool! So they were growing in the middle of agricultural land, pretty wet environment (along an artificial creek), under full sun competing with grass? Does the artificial creek dry up in the summer? It's a quite different habitat from what I imagine as typical Cyp habitats. I'm also going to look for Cyp. guttatum tomorrow. Because of late summer in AK, it is probably too early, though.

[The Orchid Boy]

This seems to be the regular blooming time. There was an ungrazed meadow across the ditch and there are maybe some in the meadow. The ditch had a big crayfish or crawdad in it so it must have water all the time. The orchids also had a nice warm, spiced, sweet fragrance.

[euplusia]

Great reward for all your efforts.

[WhiteRabbit]

Wow! Awesome!

[The Orchid Boy]

I went back today and found seed pods!







This is only 2 seed pods (2 pictures of the same one). Here's some other pictures...

The grass has grown a lot



A snail



Swamp milkweed



A field they were in, now mowed...



The (as of now) untouched ditch where they are growing

[No-Pro-mwa]

Wow that is very exiting to be able to find them in the wild. Is there some in a greenhouse somewhere to make sure they don't go extinct?

Where would I look to see what kind grow in my area?

[The Orchid Boy]

The Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo somewhat monitors them. The Greater Omaha Orchid Society monitors them also. I check on them once in a while. You cannot pick flowers, buds, leaves, ect., and cannot dig them up.

There are around 30 to 35 different species native to Montana. This looks like a good site: Ron Shimek's Website... Montana Orchids
This map shows how many different species are in a specific area: http://www.ronshimek.com/images/orch...stribution.jpg

Here's a list of the genera: Cypripedium (hardy slipper orchids, like ones pictured above), Corallorhiza, Calypso, Goodyera, Listera, Piperia, Platanthera, Amerorchis, Epipactis, Piperia , Platanthera, Coeloglossum, Liparis, Listera, Spiranthes, Listera, and Epipactis. In Glacier National Park there are orchid tours earlier in the spring I think.