Native orchids of the finger lakes region - know any good resources?
 

It's early May, which means that in a few weeks time the native orchids will be starting to pop up! This year I get to do my orchid hunting in the US rather than Europe, so hope to see some cool new species. :) Does anyone here know of some good books or websites on orchids that are native to the finger lakes region in NY, or NY state in general? Some of the gorges around here seem to be prime habitat for orchids.

Wild Orchids of the Northeast by Paul Martin Brown and Stan Folsom.

If you come to Washington you may come with our Native Orchids group on a field trip - we're going to see several Lady's Slippers the end of May along with some other species.

Thanks! I'll have a look tomorrow to see if either the public library or the Cornell library have the book. As for field trips, Washington's a bit far but your suggestion did give me to idea to check if such groups exist around here.

Calypso bulbosa var. americana would be native to the deciduous conifer woodlands in your area. They like a good amount of moisture, if this is any clue as to where or how to find them.

If you've never seen Fairy Slippers before, they're very small (with flower spike, they're about 3 to 4 inches tall, the leaf is only about a couple inches long, flowers are no bigger than 1" in diameter). They're not quite as large as what the photographs make them out to be. Luckily, they might be not too difficult to spot due to the fact that they grow in small colonies.

I'd be looking for a small group of small spearhead shaped leaves, with slightly ruffled edges.

Aplectrum hyemale might be in your area too. Although you probably wouldn't be finding leaves. More likely, you'd be seeing flower spikes (no leaves, they may have died back already). It resembles a thin asparagus shoot.

Then, there's Epipactis helleborine. These might be difficult to spot at first because they look so inconspicuous around some of the other plants around it. At least this was how it was like finding Epipactis gigantea.

I went upstream and downstream and couldn't find it (I was told it was there). It wasn't until I was about ready to give up and had to relieve myself at the base of a tree, that I turned around and found it. It was right where I had entered into the woody area of the bike trail growing by the stream, except I didn't notice it when I first went in.

Epipactis helleborine was an accidental introduction to the US and has since become naturalized and invasive (however, it is in protected status).

You might find this in moist areas, probably around the edges of deciduous woodlands, particularly around places rich in serpentine.

There might be more, but as far as I know, these are the ones you'll most likely encounter.

Hey, what day is this happening??? 4 hours by car for me isnt that far away.

Hey Tindo,
It's Washington State, not Washington DC, but you're welcome to come along. Would love to have you along in fact - it's towards to the end of May if you're interested.
Ron