Day 12 — Orchids on the “Rock” — Newfoundland — 2013-07-14

Happy Bastille Day! (July 14). Anyway, today would be filled with a lot of driving, since we are now headed to the east coast of Newfoundland. There is a tiny village called Tilt Cove, population maybe a dozen, whose history is shrouded with mining disasters and shipwrecks. It was once a thriving fishing center as well as a town known for its rich copper deposits. Over the years, the copper ran out and people left the area to find better jobs. But we were not going there for the fish nor the copper nor the history. What we were seeking was an orchid species that is also shrouded in strange circumstances.

But first, we needed to make a detour to revisit the Lomond River Trail to see if the lone Platanthera orbiculata or Lesser Pad-leaved orchid was finally in bloom. We had seen this plant in tight bud when we first visited the Lomond River Trail about one week previous. So, we took the 1-hour detour to the far-end trail head in the Killdevil Campground area. We unpacked our gear and headed off down the trail. Almost immediately, Walter looked down and spotted a purple-flowered stem and had discovered our first orchid of the day — Platanthera psycodes or Small Purple Fringed orchid:

Although we expected to see more of these when we headed farther south in the next couple of days, this was a pleasant surprise. Just down the path, we discovered another one, right next to the trail. It was shaping up to be a good day.

The orchid we had made this trip to see was about 15 minutes down the trail. We were not the first to find this plant, since there was a tiny bit of flagging tape on a tree next to the plant. Obviously, someone else had marked it so that they could find it later, just as we did. When we arrived at that spot, my expectations were dashed, somewhat, because the 18-inch tall (45 cm) plant still was not in bloom — even a week later:

However, upon closer inspection, there was one flower that was open. What a relief, our visit was not in vain:

We spent a bit of time looking around for more blooming plants but did not locate any. So, we headed back to the car, packed our gear, and headed off down the road to our second destination.

This was a roadside site that Diane Allen had told us about the last time we were together. I had asked her if she knew any other places for Neottia (Listera) convallarioides or Broad-leaved Twayblade orchid that might be in bloom. She had given me explicit directions, and soon, we were at the spot. We parked on a nearby gravel road and headed north along the ditch bordering the highway. We were told to look in the tree line bordering the ditch. She was right! I had found my first blooming plant of this species:

We ended up finding about a dozen of these, but most were way past peak bloom. This one was in great shape, so I spent some time removing dead grass and leaves around it to get a better shot. We continued looking around the area and soon found a number of Platanthera dilatata var. dilatata or Scentbottle orchid. As I have mentioned in a prior blog entry, it is aptly named, because the fragrance is so strong that the sweet aroma is easily noticed even before the plant is seen:

Here is a closeup of the flowers:

It is thought that Platanthera huronensis Huron Green orchid is an ancient cross between Platanthera aquilonis Northern Green Bog orchid and Platanthera dilatata var. dilatata Scentbottle orchid. I’ll leave it up to you, kind reader, to ferret out the details…

The big surprise at this site, though, was the several clumps of what I believe to be Spiranthes romanzoffiana or Hooded Ladies’-tresses orchid just starting to bloom:

Later on, after further discussions with some in the “know”, I discovered that this might just be a different species, maybe even a new species. Spiranthes romanzoffiana usually blooms much later in the year, like late-August. If this is Spiranthes romanzoffiana, what is it doing blooming in mid-July? We will have to wait for further information on this one…

We wrapped up our visit to this interesting roadside collection of orchids and headed off down the road and across Newfoundland. We had several hours of driving ahead of us before we would reach Tilt Cove. Who knew what awaits us when we get there?

The drive took us through several different landscapes. Where we were previously in wet, boggy areas with stunted spruce and limestone barrens, here we find ourselves in dense spruce and tamarack forests with trees towering over us. The temperature had also risen considerably from 16 degrees C (60 degrees F) to 26 degrees C (79 degrees F). What a change in just a couple of hours. After being in the cool and damp weather along the western coast, this was more of what we were accustomed to in South Carolina.

We followed the directions on our trusted dash-board GPS and made our way toward Tilt Cove. As we got nearer, the roads became more narrow and soon turned to gravel. This was not a problem, since many of the roads we had driven on that were branching off the main highway were well-maintained gravel roads.

Our first stop would be a wet, seepy area a mile or so before we reached Tilt Cove. We had information that this seepy area might have specimens of the orchid we had driven so far to find — Dactylorhiza majalis subsp. praetermissa or Southern Marsh orchid. I think now is a good time to discuss the mystery surrounding the occurrence of this orchid in Newfoundland.

This is not a species that is found anywhere else in North America. A similar Dactylorhiza species is found much farther south near St. John’s, the capital city of Newfoundland. However, I’m not exactly sure it is a “native” orchid species, either. In any case, the one we were searching for is found in Great Britain — in fact, it is fairly common in some areas in the English countryside. Since its discovery in the late 1800s in Newfoundland, it is believed to have come over, perhaps as seeds on mining equipment that was imported form Great Britain. There is no assurance for this supposition, however, but it is still considered by many to be a non-native orchid. Regardless, we were in search of this beautiful orchid, regardless of its alien status.

Arriving in Tilt Cove is quite an adventure. The gravel road winds around and up and down until it finally takes a steep dive into the valley. The first sight one sees is Winsor Lake:

The lake is named after George and Mary Winsor, who first settled the area around 1813. They immigrated from England. Hmmmmmm… Perhaps Mary and George brought some of their favorite native orchids with them. Stranger things have happened.

Anyway, to the far left of the image, the lake connects to the ocean and to Notre Dame Bay. There are monuments and tombstones in the local cemetery memorializing shipwrecks off the coast. I know this, because I climed the 72 wooded steps leading up the hill (just out of the frame to the immediate left in the image), because I had seen some splashes of magenta-purple in the deep grasses as we were coming down the hill into the village:

This was, in fact, what we had driven so far to find: Dactylorhiza majalis subsp. praetermissa or Southern Marsh orchid also known by the locals as Tilt Cove orchid. We wasted no time in driving the loop road around the lake back to the hillside that housed the old cemetery. Upon climbing the steps and heading left, I found myself in knee-deep grass, but within sight of dozens, maybe hundreds of this beautiful orchid:

As you can see from the image on the above right, there were also a good number of Platanthera dilatata var. dilatata or Scentbottle orchids growing among the Tilt Cove orchids.

Although most of the flowers were shades deep magenta-purple…:

…we did find one that was decidedly pinkinsh in hue:

I even managed to find one growing next to last year’s seed capsules:

Up close, it’s easy to see why we would travel so far with just the hope to find such beautiful flowers:

We spent a couple of hours combing the hillside for the best of the Tilt Cove orchids. What a sight! This is the only place in North America where this species can be found. Thanks to the directions of those who went before us, we managed to hit it right at the peak of their bloom.

We reluctantly descended the hillside to our car. Being late in the day, we packed our gear and headed back toward civilization and a comfortable bed for the night. On our way out of the Tilt Cove area, we spotted entire roadsides covered with Platanthera dilatata var. dilatata or Scentbottle orchid. I had to stop to take a few shots:

Tomorrow would take us to an area we by-passed on our way up the coast. We would be visiting the Codroy Valley, where we hoped to find thousands of fringed orchids in bloom…

— Jim