LOL!!! How many images can I take of two blooming stems of an orchid species found out in the field?
Yesterday, Walter Ezell and I made a day trip to a location in Wilkes County, North Carolina — Stone Mountain State Park, to be specific. The state park is located in Wilkes and Alleghany Counties, but the portion we visited, Stone Mountain, itself, is in Wilkes County. The target species was Hexalectris spicata or Crested Coralroot orchid. What with the 3.5-hour drive to and from the location, and the hour-long trek up and down the mountain, and the couple of hours spent with the plants, themselves, it made for an 11-hour day.
Crested Coralroot orchid
I found out about this particular site while reading Stan Bentley’s wonderful, “Native Orchids of the Southern Appalachian Mountains” (2000, University of North Carolina Press). After almost two decades in publication, it’s still available from Amazon. If you don’t have a copy of this book, I very strongly suggest you purchase a copy (or steal one, if you have to). Stan’s excellent photography is what made me want to improve my photographic skills, and for that, I thank him from the bottom of my heart!
Hexalectris spicata or Crested Coralroot orchid is, in my humble opinion, one of North America’s most beautiful orchid species. Well, all of the Hexalectris species are spectacular, for that matter.
According to Stan, “The flowers are considerably larger than the true coralroots of the southern mountains. This orchid, in prime situations may reach 18 inches (approximately 45 centimeters) in height and present a rather stout appearance. When viewed closely, the flowers of this orchid exhibit a gorgeous combination of dark earthy colors that rival the beauty of almost any orchid. Inside the flowers are subtle combinations of chestnut, purple, maroon, and cream blended together most attractively. The network of purple veining on the lip and the parallel dark veins on the sepals are exquisite.” Stan goes on to further paint a word picture of this spectacular orchid species, but I included the previous quote to give you a sample of his wonderfully descriptive writing.
Crested Coralroot orchids usually prefers a more basic soil type which is higher in pH that what is commonly found in the Carolina mountains. This is what is odd about the Stone Mountain site. The orchids are found growing very near the summit of the quartz monzonite dome monadnock, a geological formation very similar to the more famous Stone Mountain in Georgia. I’m uncertain just where the orchid finds its preferred basic soil type on top of a quartz monzonite feature, but there it is. Perhaps it is actually more tolerant of soil pH that is generally thought. In any case, the plants have made their appearance at least every year since Stan wrote his book. This year, we found about dozen plants, scattered in the grassy, meadow-like understory near the summit. Here is an image I took several years ago that will give you an idea of the habitat:
To give you an idea of its general distribution in North America, here is a map created by BONAP (Biota of North America Program) which delineates the counties where the species has been reported. The counties colored light green represent where the species has been reported as “present”. The counties colored in yellow represent where the species has been reported as “rare”.
Unfortunately, we were about a week late to see most of the plants in flower. We managed to find only two stems with decent open flowers — the remainder of the stems had already produced seed capsules. That is why I titled this blog post with, “How many images can I take…….???”. I usually prefer to have more specimens to choose from, but it is what it is. Here goes…
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I’ll leave you with a shot taken several years ago from the west flank of Stone Mountain:
So, that’s it. Not much variety, I admit. We did see many dozens of Tipularia discolor or Crane-fly orchids as well as a few Spiranthes lacera var. gracilis or Northern Slender Ladies’-tresses orchids, but I featured both of those species in my most recent blog post about the orchids in the Pisgah National Forest. I wish I had visited this location a bit sooner to be able to see the mature bloom spikes in their full glory, but there’s just not enough time to do everything I want to do. It seems to be one of the hazards of retirement…
The next “planned” posts will be from the Carolina Coastal Plain around mid-August.
Stay tuned…
–Jim
7 Responses
I have only seen one Hexalectris sp. in my life. That was at G. Richard Thompson Wildlife Management Area and we did not know the species. I was amazed then and am again! How beautiful and subtle!
These photographs are exquisite.
The shapes and arc of the flowers, their placement on the stem, my, are practically poetry.
Thank you, for using your retirement so fruitfully!
Beautiful photos. I love having found your blog I have learned so much about native orchids and have actually been able to find and identify a few when out bird watching because of you.
🙂 You took just the right number of photographs. Better luck next year finding more than two stems. Every part of that flower has a special quality and your photos enhance their beauty. Breathtaking.
For a limited “palette” of flowers, you certainly captured them, Jim….Lovely plants, this one’s on my life list…I understand they can be found in Pennsylvania – which is within striking range.
I think your 11 hours were well worth it! Your photographs are beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing your passion!
Your exquisite photography captured the elegant beauty of this orchid.