Keeping Secrets...

Some of the rarest things in nature are the most fascinating. Factor in the challenge to see these rarities and an obsessive desire is born. We want to see them, we need to see them. Or at least we think we do. Sometimes, maybe it should be enough to know they are there.

Three-birds Orchid, Triphora trianthophora
Diminutive orchids with rare blooming cycles, become the Holy Grail for botanist types. Perhaps, it is good to document their bloom cycles, and fix a "mental search image" so other populations may be found.

Swamp Metalmark, Calephelis muticum
The butterfly so rare, it was thought to be extirpated. Did the last of the previously known population meet its demise by over-zealous by butterfly collectors?

How easy it is to love to death the very treasures we should protect.

River Jewelwing, Calopteryx aequabilis photo by Dennis Paulson

In Ohio dragonflies, it is the delicate River Jewelwing which inspires men to madness and women to mourning. Oh, to see this creature dive beneath the water to lay her eggs, to enable next generation's success. Only two known sites in Ohio; this is the damsel we long to see. But we should put the good of the species, above our need for voyeurism? I have settled for seeing this species in Michigan, where they are not endangered.

Keeping secrets? Maybe we should- if it protects the very plant, insect or bird that we treasure most. Is it keeping secrets, or being responsible? Eco-tourism is great, as long as the "traffic" doesn't endanger the very species we want to save.

Maybe I'll even re-think my desire to see polar bears, after all- do they really need to see me?

Small Orchid- Big Deal

There are people who love orchids, and then there are people who love orchids.
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Generally orchids are among our biggest and flashiest of flowers. Not so with the Three-Birds Orchid, Triphora trianthophora. It may be a small orchid, but it is a big deal to Ohio's orchid lovers.




It's an orchid alright, and a showy little flower it is. But they can be rarer than "hen's teeth," as the old saying goes. Botanists often ponder if they are really more out there than we know about, but their size and short bloom cycle make them extremely difficult to find.





This little population in Ashland county was originally found by Tom Arbour, a good friend and fellow botany lover. He knew beach maple forests can produce these beauties, and he must have had his eyes peeled to find them.
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How small are they? Well, here's one beside a penny! Nevermind the rotten photo, it is all mine. Auto focus liked the penny better than the plant, but you get the idea. This is definitely a tiny orchid!

Dr. Erik Roth from OSU was along with our group. He studies Three-birds Orchids and their habitat and you have to get close to study this orchid! The largest population he has ever seen of the orchids was also in Ashland county. It had hundreds and hundreds of the mini-corsages, but no more. That location has become a sub-division; welcome urban sprawl.

Three-birds Orchid photo by John Howard.

Normally Three-birds bloom the second week of August, but as I suspected, the timing was early this year. So get out there and start scouring around beneath the trees; they are often found in the same habitat as Indian pipe, Monotropha uniflora.

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Good Luck!!! I am sure Erik would love to have a few more populations for his study.

The Ornithological Orchid

Three-birds Orchid, Triphora trianthophora

On the northern edge of Ashland County lies a National Natural Landmark named Crall Woods. Owned by the Ashland County Park District, the 283 acres that make up this tract are filled with year-round beauty. Spring marks the most spectacular wildflower displays known in our area, and the stream cascades over mini-falls near the park entrance.

Scouting through the park with well known blogger, Tom Arbour, from Ohio's Division of Natural Areas and Preserves, we had something very different on our mind: orchids! Tom had discovered one of Ohio's rare and most diminutive orchids on this plot two years ago.

Jim Sloan, Tom Kruse of Ashland Park Board and Tom Arbour inspect the orchids.

Hard to believe that the ground around our feet was littered with the delicate beauties, however they are so small it nearly requires a head-stand to get at good look at them! At first blush, its growth habits reminds one of the ground-hugging saprophytes, but it more closely resembles a shrunken Arethusa orchid.
A sense of the minuscule proportions becomes evident next to the Blue Cohosh berries lying on the ground. These plants are listed as potentially threatened in Ohio, but some believe they may be more common than once believed. Given the eye-straining size of the species, combined with the short-lived bloom, usually withering in a day, they are difficult to locate. Add to the mix their sporadic blooming, and it becomes obvious why we were so excited by relocating these Lillipution sized orchids.