Revisiting the Francis Marion National Forest for Spiked Medusa and other orchids — 2014-08-25

On my way back home from southeast Georgia this past weekend, I had to make a decision whether or not to take a detour to revisit the Francis Marion National Forest near Charleston, South Carolina. It would be about 4 hours out of my way, but I would have the chance to see South Carolina’s “version” of Pteroglossaspis ecristata or Spiked Medusa orchid — a species I had just photographed in Georgia. I had not seen it in flower in South Carolina in a few years, and I had found a single plant in spike a week earlier. As I drew near the turnoff, I reasoned that it would be another year before I could see it, and maybe it would not even show in another year, so I bit the bullet and took the turnoff. I’m so good at justifying things to myself…

In addition to the Spiked Medusa orchid, I knew there would be some Southern White Fringed orchids as well as some Yellow Fringed orchids in bloom. I also wanted to check out a new spot for Malaxis spicata or Florida Adder’s-mouth orchid which I had seen just starting to flower the previous week. It was getting late when I arrived in the FMNF, so I took a brief tour of a few places, then I drove to my motel in Summerville for the night.

The next morning, I was pleasantly surprised with the 71-degree F (21-degree C) temperature — some 30 degrees F less than the previous day in Georgia. So, I gobbled down my continental breakfast, filled the tank with $3.05/gallon gas, and headed east toward the FMNF.

The first place I visited was a site for Platanthera conspicua or Southern White Fringed orchids. I had seen them in bloom a week earlier when I was joined by Erica Obey and George Baird on their “Get Acquainted with Southern Orchids” field trip. 😉 Knowing that the fringed orchids usually last a few weeks in pretty good shape, I expected to find some good ones to photograph. It just doesn’t get much better than this:

Near this location is a forest service road leading off of the main drag. The area was burned early this year, and provided easy access to the site where I have seen Pteroglossaspis ecristata or Spiked Medusa orchid in past years. There are never very many of them in bloom in any one year, so it took me a couple of hours, deep in the forest, to find one. The problem of finding them lies with the similarity of the flower spike to all of the other grasses and flower spikes in the area — the proverbial “needle in the haystack” scenario. The one plant that was in spike the previous week should now be in bloom.

I reached the spot and searched the area for the flowers. Even knowing where I had seen it a week ago apparently made little difference in relocating it. Finally, I spotted it — the 3-foot (1-meter) flower spike was in full bloom:

Compare the flowers on the South Carolina version of this orchid species to those we found the previous day in southeastern Georgia:

Although the Georgia plants are bigger and have more flowers on each flower spike, I think I prefer the more colorful South Carolina plants:

After photographing the plant in flower, I searched the area for additional ones and finally found another one that was four or five days from being in full bloom:

Well, I still had a few more sites to check, and I wanted to try to leave the FMNF early enough to get home before dark. It was another 4-hour drive for me. I figured that I had an hour or so to check out the new location for Malaxis spicata or Florida Adder’s-mouth orchid that my Atlanta friend, Alan Cressler, had found the previous year.

I arrived at the location near the site and gathered my camera gear. The familiar and persistent cloud of mosquitoes were there in full force to greet me. I don’t like using insect repellant, but there was no choice in the matter. The site is about 50 yards (45 meters) into a deep, dark swamp. This particular orchid prefers the mucky, swamp bottom habitat, and this site was ankle-deep in water because of the previous day’s rain. Fortunately, I had brought along my calf-high rubber boots.

As I navigated the swamp, I began to notice several small Malaxis spicata plants in bloom. But I was looking for the larger ones that Alan had seen. Just at the edge of a clearing in the swamp, I found what I was looking for — a couple of 10-inch (25-cm) tall plants just loaded with flowers. I immediately set up my tripod and began photographing the flowers. Here are a couple of close-up shots of the tiny orange flowers – the smallest of any of our local native orchids:

I took a few shots of the entire plants from a distance to show the arrangement of the two leaves and the flower spike:

The mosquitoes were so ferocious, that I could not stay as long as I might have wished. Even with a liberal application of 30% Deet repellant, these blood suckers were unrelenting in their attack. On the way out of the swamp, I came across a patch of Ponthieva racemosa or Hairy Shadow-witch orchids just beginning to send up flower spikes. They will be in full bloom around the end of September:

I made my way back to the truck, packed my gear and headed home. I took a different route out of the area, hoping that I would see some roadside orchids. I was not disappointed. During Last week’s trip with Erica and George, I had remarked that there seemed to be a lack of Yellow Fringed orchids in bloom this year. I obviously didn’t remember that they usually come into full bloom a week or so after the Southern White Fringe orchids are in full bloom. Now, I was seeing lots of orange “torches” scattered in the roadside ditches:

As I was photographing these orchids, I saw a Phoebis sennae or Cloudless sulphur butterfly land on one of the inflorescences. I know that it is one of the main pollinators of the fringed orchids in the southeast, so I wanted to get a shot of it on the flowers. It was intently focused on getting the nectar, but I did not see any sign of pollinia on the butterfly…………….. until I processed the images last night. If you look closely, you will see a single pollinia attached to one of its compound eyes! I had managed to capture it perfectly as it posed for me on the orchid:

What a serendipitous treat to capture this sight! I love to photograph orchids and their pollinators, but usually don’t get to see the final results until after I get home and process the images. This shot worked out quite well and actually made my day!

I hope to get back down to the Francis Marion National Forest for the Hairy Shadow-witch orchid bloom at the end of September. Stay tuned…

–Jim