# Cyp. candidum in situ



## silence882 (May 7, 2020)

Hi All,

We're about to get an unusually late freeze, so I rushed out today to search for Cyp. candidum in bloom here in Maryland. I got lucky and found a patch of about a dozen plants in bloom. It's the only known location for this species in Maryland. And some extra good news - there were a couple of last year's seedpods hanging around!



















--Stephen


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## Linus_Cello (May 7, 2020)

Wow. I presume these are in the pan handle and not closer to Baltimore or DC


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## KyushuCalanthe (May 7, 2020)

What a treat seeing these in such a unique environment, and it's equally wonderful they are still thriving. Thanks for the look!


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## mrhappyrotter (May 7, 2020)

Amazing! And lovely species. I'm so disgruntled with the weather honestly and about to give up on things. Last year at this time, we were in the middle of a drought and approaching 100F temperatures. This year, I can't get the veggies to grow because it's so cold and now a frost is being predicted several weeks after our average last frost date.


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## fundulopanchax (May 7, 2020)

Those look great! I didn't realize there are still Cyp candidum in the state.

Very nice, thanks!


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## DrLeslieEe (May 7, 2020)

Thanks for the wonderful pics and update report. The flowers are so pretty.
Their future looks promising with the pods!
You are now the guardian of these plants.


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## silence882 (May 7, 2020)

Linus_Cello said:


> Wow. I presume these are in the pan handle and not closer to Baltimore or DC


You are correct. These are in Washington County.



KyushuCalanthe said:


> What a treat seeing these in such a unique environment, and it's equally wonderful they are still thriving. Thanks for the look!


Seeing these has been the highlight of my Spring.



mrhappyrotter said:


> Amazing! And lovely species. I'm so disgruntled with the weather honestly and about to give up on things. Last year at this time, we were in the middle of a drought and approaching 100F temperatures. This year, I can't get the veggies to grow because it's so cold and now a frost is being predicted several weeks after our average last frost date.


I am also about to lose it due to the weather. I have only been able to plant a few of my annuals and have two dozen plants to bring inside before tomorrow night's freeze watch here in MoCo.



fundulopanchax said:


> Those look great! I didn't realize there are still Cyp candidum in the state.
> 
> Very nice, thanks!


These were not easy to find and in a very difficult location to access. I am hopeful they will remain undisturbed.



DrLeslieEe said:


> Thanks for the wonderful pics and update report. The flowers are so pretty.
> Their future looks promising with the pods!
> You are now the guardian of these plants.


My guardianship extends to taking the location of these plants to my grave. I promised my source I wouldn't ever share the coordinates.


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## abax (May 8, 2020)

Good for you! You deserve your handle. They
are beautiful plants and I haven't seen them in KY
at all anymore. I hear all of you about the damn
weather. We've been running around most of the
day covering plants with aluminet. My gorgeous
peony bed is full of beautiful buds...aaccckkkkk!
AND it just keeps raining!!!


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## dodidoki (May 8, 2020)

Very nice rare finding.Take care about them


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## Linus_Cello (May 8, 2020)

Have you seen C. reginae in Washington Co.?


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## BrucherT (May 8, 2020)

Do you know if the area can be burned? Near Chicago is a location that was down to two plants in the 1980s. Regular controller burns have enabled a population of thousands now.


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## xiphius (May 8, 2020)

Gorgeous! I love seeing in situ photos like this!



mrhappyrotter said:


> This year, I can't get the veggies to grow because it's so cold and now a frost is being predicted several weeks after our average last frost date.



I feel your pain. I too can't seem to win this year (just finished throwing last-minute cover on all my tomatoes). But they call it an "average" last frost date for a reason .


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## NYEric (May 8, 2020)

Thanks for sharing.


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## silence882 (May 8, 2020)

Linus_Cello said:


> Have you seen C. reginae in Washington Co.?



I've read that Cyp. reginae was only ever found at one site in Garrett County and that site has been lost to history. I'd be willing to drive to western Pennsylvania to see it if I had a concrete location. I'll probably hit a well known site for parviflorum var pubescens in VA in a week or two.



BrucherT said:


> Do you know if the area can be burned? Near Chicago is a location that was down to two plants in the 1980s. Regular controller burns have enabled a population of thousands now.



I cannot imagine that they'd be willing to do a controlled burn at this site. Plus they may accidentally destroy the one small patch that I could find.


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## KyushuCalanthe (May 9, 2020)

BrucherT said:


> Do you know if the area can be burned? Near Chicago is a location that was down to two plants in the 1980s. Regular controller burns have enabled a population of thousands now.


To add to Stephen's remarks, the disjunct populations of the eastern states are often not typical for the species, that being mesic prairie. For example they can be found in rocky wooded slopes (Maryland) and in river floodplains (Alabama and New Jersey). In these habitats fire is not a common element as in the more typical prairie habitat.


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