The Plant Detective

Many of you may know my friend Steve McKee. In fact, a good number of you may know him from his now-nearly-famous, "The Plant Detective" program, most recently seen at the Midwest Native Plant Symposium. Steve originally created the clever program for his friends in the Mohican Native Plant Society, and it seems to have achieved a life of its own. The main theme involves the process of searching for missing plants. It even includes a "Most Wanted" plant.

Today was a big day for the Plant Detective, Steve McKee. He finally solved the case and found his most wanted plant. This plant had been collected in Richland County, once in 1892- and has been missing ever since.

Purple Fringed Orchid, Platanthera psycodes is such a lovely plant, it would not easily be overlooked. However, it has the nasty habitat of living deep within swamps, where few people dare the July heat, humidity and mosquitoes. Unless, those people might also be interested in dragonflies!

The plant paparazzi moves in. Gary Kennedy gets the GPS coordinates as Judy Semroc takes documentary photos. What started out as a dragonfly outing ended up as a celebration for our friend's good fortune and excellent find.

The Plant Detective, Steve McKee... always gets his orchid.

Orchids Galore!

On our recent trip to Cedar Bog we found two more species of orchids. Let's face it, if we are going to look at botany, why not go for the big and flashy stuff?

Grass-Pink, Calopogon tuberosus

This orchid is not so big, only an inch or so across, but the color makes up for the size. A magenta colored orchid has real "wow factor." It is also interesting among orchids, as is operates up-side-down so to speak. The "lip" is on the top, and when a pollinator lands on the orchid, the spring-loaded lip smacks a load of pollen on the the poor unsuspecting bee! This must be Mother Nature's idea of a practical joke, but it gets the job done.

The full size of the orchid is not much more than 8-14 inches, and it often grows out of the sphagnum moss in high quality bogs and fens.

Purple Fringe Orchid, Platanthera psycodes

Rumor in the botany world had it that a rare Purple Fringed Orchid was being seen from the boardwalk at Cedar Bog. This was an opportunity I just couldn't pass up! This is an orchid we haven't seen in Richland County (my home) since the late 1800's. Here was my opportunity to get a mental search image for the correct habitat and get a look at the orchid, although it was sadly failing by the time we reached Urbana.

Purple Fringed Orchid..... photo by Andrew Gibson

Fortunately, young botanist Andrew Gibson was there last week and got spectacular photo- documentation of this very orchid and the wet woodlands it inhabits at Cedar Bog. He was kind enough to share his photos- so you can fully appreciate the beauty of this pastel charmer. It was a "life" orchid for me, and one I have been hoping to see for quite a while.

Cedar Bog is packed with rarities and loads of "regular" botany too. Please be sure to visit soon, and patronize the "Friends" concession in their lovely, new building. Not only did we find orchids, but there were several interesting lilies as well. Add in the insects, lizards and a bazillion species of plants, and you have plenty to hold your interest!