Native Orchid - Crane's Fly Orchid

[e-spice]

I was out in the yard today and spotted this plant that looked like an orchid. I did a little research and it turned out to be Tipularia discolor, also known as the crane's fly orchid. It was growing on the steep bank of a lake under some brush. It had only a spike - no foliage. I read that the foliage comes out in the fall and stays on the plant all winter. Leaves are shed before it blooms in the summer.

Sorry for the bad picture - it was growing in an area that was difficult to photograph well (plus it looked like it a good place for snakes to hang around).

e-spice

 

[JeanLux]

Cool flowers, impressive long spurs !!!! Jean

 

[Dido]

A nice one, wish mine will bloom one day.

 

[NYEric]

Thnaks for sharing. Isn't it cool to find native orchids?!

 

[likespaphs]

love it!

 

[prem]

Dido, I'm not surprised that you are still waiting to see yours bloom...my observation of wild colonies is that only about 10 percent of the plants seen in the winter time will bloom in the summer. You can read more about this species on my website:

http://www.flnativeorchids.com/natives_gallery/tipularia_discolor.htm

---Prem

 

[Clark]

Sweet!
The native orchid thing is not going well here.

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

Little oddball species - just the kind I love to find.

Sweet!
The native orchid thing is not going well here.

What do you mean Clark?

 

[cnycharles]

nice. by the way, your picture is about as good as anyone's, as they seem to grow where it is hard to get a good picture, and it's often dark. .. and if you look closely the flower is asymmetrical, so even if you have good focus and detail the picture just looks 'wrong' because your eye expects a nice, even flower

 

[Dido]

Dido, I'm not surprised that you are still waiting to see yours bloom...my observation of wild colonies is that only about 10 percent of the plants seen in the winter time will bloom in the summer. You can read more about this species on my website:

http://www.flnativeorchids.com/natives_gallery/tipularia_discolor.htm

---Prem

Interesting, that could maybe explain why I have not often flowers from this kinds.
Aplectrum is the same, have big leaves but no flower.
Tipularia, at least they seem to grow now.
Oreorchids, they flowered now every 3 years one for me the last one was last year, but I have 5 plants and now 1 more I baught, but again now flower this year. but some are great growers and the leaf getting bigger every year.

But no idea what makes them flowering or what I did different last year to have this great flower.
One Applectrum had a flower spike but it was over after it went so deep in temp.

 

[cnycharles]

yes, both tipularia and putty root have the same method of operation. actually, in nature often pink ladyslippers also do the same thing; build up strength, eventually flower, and then maybe at some point not emerge for a number of years. sometimes the plants (any of above) may not show up in any particular year. of course, that may be a response to having not quite enough light or something else from the last year, or not enough water etc. having greenhouse culture may allow them to be above ground a lot more often but who knows what the flowering trigger might be

 

[SlipperFan]

Cute.