I found this alongside a shady stream. What is it?
unknown wildflower
lillyo, looks like you found a beautiful specimen of Platanthera psycodes - Small Purple Fringed Orchid
http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/50903/ - Nice find! We've found Large Purple Fringed Orchid growing in the wild, but yours is much prettier.
Yes, thanks!
I have to get myself an up-to-date wildflower guide. My books list the genus as Habenaria but I guess that has changed since 1979. The pictures are identical to Platanthera and it sounds like you found a prize. It's beautiful. Some species of this are endangered.
Martha
I found this plant's picture on www.ct-botanical-society.org and the prior name is listed as Habenaria. I also saw a picture of a yellow fringed orchid on the CT botanical society website and I want to find one now. I've lived in CT my whole life and I've never seen a platanthera psychoides and I saw my first jewel weed the same week. I wonder if the endless rain is encouraging these moisture loving plants.
lillyo, the name has changed and I have to say that I like the old one better - much more fun to say :) We found this one growing along a stream in northern Michigan recently, one of the green orchids. Not too much to look at but still an interesting orchid.
If you keep your eyes open while traveling, you never know what you might find. We're constantly searching the ditches for plants and found this beautiful specimen of Showy Ladyslipper several years ago, also in Michigan. It's the largest clump we've ever seen, 21+ flowers on this one. Interesting story, this is the 3rd year we've gone back to take photos and this year we just happened to get there as someone was trying to dig it up!!! Fortunately we saved the plant, although the gentleman wasn't too happy with us. We told him we'd report him to the DNR if we came back and found it missing. Two weeks later it was still there, but who knows if it will be there next year :(
Wow, that's pretty. Good save!
Thanks Dave - hopefully we scared him off for good - although when he first left the scene of the crime, we had stayed to take pictures - 10 min later he came back, figuring we would have been gone by then - not! this time he was pretty mad and confronted my husband asking him why he was giving him such a hard time. said he does "this kind of stuff" all the time and no one ever gives him a problem. also said he had "gone to school for this" ?? well if was a horticultural student he would know it's a crime and shameful, forget morally wrong, to take such a beautiful specimen since it's obviously very happy where it is.