Old Faces in New Places

I love botany.  I don't think you need to know me on a personal level to arrive at that conclusion.  There's just something about it that really gets the heart pumping and adrenaline flowing.  One never knows what lies just around the bend no matter how many times you've walked that trail before.  That's what keeps the passion so fresh; the humility of the search is only bested by the excitement of discovery.  Earlier this week while botanizing west-central Ohio's remnant tall-grass prairies and fen complexes I was lucky enough to recharge my botanical chi with a few thrilling discoveries of my own...

The day started by picking up good friend and fellow blogger Michael Whittemore of Flora and Fauna of Appalchia fame for a fun-filled day of hiking and exploring the aforementioned ecosystems my home area of Ohio is known for.  Mike had yet to experience the fascinating and unique plant communities fens have to offer so I was certainly excited to introduce him to arguably my favorite Ohio ecosystem.  First up, though was a quick swim through the sea of tall, warm-season grasses at Pearl King oak savannah, one of Ohio's largest and most intact prairie remnants of the once formidable Darby Plains.

*Remember to click on the photographs to see them in a larger, more detailed resolution!*

Ancient Oaks of Pearl King

An open area with a surprise!

I apologize for the first few pictures being rather washed out but not much you can do when trying to photograph in bright, sunny conditions.  Just have to deal with what Mother Nature gives you!  While Pearl King is only 14 acres in size it more than makes up for its small proportions with a rich and deep look into Ohio's natural history.  Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), Indian-grass (Sorghastrum nutans), Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), Prairie Cordgrass (Spartinia pectinata) and the rare, state-threatened Prairie Dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis) abound in the fertile, unplowed virgin terra firma along with gargantuan and ancient Bur, White and Post oaks.  Look for a more detailed and intimate post going into the history and flora of this preserve in the near future.  Today I want to focus on one little plant hiding amongst the prairie grasses.

Spiranthes lacera var. gracilis

Spiranthes lacera var. gracilis

As we made our way through the grasses at Pearl King I came across a small, open patch of ground with a curious little stalk of white, spiraled flowers growing near a stunted oak sapling.  Kneeling down for a closer look I immediately recognized it as Slender Lady's Tresses (Spiranthes lacera var. gracilis) by the green coloration on the lip and mouth of the inflorescence.  I quickly called Mike over to take a look, as I knew he was a big fan of the Spiranthes orchids.  I was excited at the chance to show him the Nodding Lady's Tresses (S. cernua) at Gallagher fen but had little hope of finding any other Spiranthes during our hikes.  I've seen slender lady's tresses plenty of times and have always thought of it as one of Ohio's most common species of Spiranthes and didn't really think much of the sighting at the time but more on that later...

Gallagher Fen in Clark County

A tiny curiosity caught my eye...

After leaving Pearl King behind we set our sights on one of the most interesting and down right awesome natural areas in the state, Gallagher Fen.  This particular fen is unique among others by combining not only the normal features of a fen environment but the added pleasure of a naturally-occurring perched hill prairie above the fen.  This upland habitat adds another floristic component to the equation with native prairie species blooming and watching guard over the delicate aquatic calcifiles below.  After spending a couple hours exploring the fen and surrounding prairie, Mike and I started to make our way back through the mature Oak/Hickory woods bordering the preserve when a tiny little plant caught my attention.

Spiranthes ovalis

Spiranthes ovalis

As luck would have it I happened to be face to face with yet another unexpected Spiranthes, the Lesser Lady's Tresses (Spiranthes ovalis var. erostellata).  Easily the smallest and least attractive of the lady's tresses, I was a bit taken aback to have found this plant in Gallagher fen, let alone to have noticed it as we walked down the path.  I had previously seen this dainty little orchid in several spots in Adams county last fall but never outside the confines of southern Ohio.  I quickly pulled my trusty iPhone out to check the current known distribution of the species as I wasn't aware of S. ovalis being known from Clark county.  After a quick check of the out-dated USDA distribution maps as well as the more trusted and current BONAP ranges I quickly noticed neither had any records of this for Clark county.  Hmm?  I'm pretty hesitant to ever get my hopes up when the maps don't confirm my findings but it did leave me a bit more curious about the situation.

Size comparison against camera lens

Lesser Lady's Tresses in full bloom

Since I had all the ranges of the North American Spiranthes at my finger tips I decided to take the few seconds needed to check on the Ohio distribution of the previously found S. lacera var. gracilis just to be thorough.  My brow furrowed as I noticed no record for the species being collected in Madison county before.  Could I possibly have stumbled across new county records for these two miniscule orchids?  I needed a better source than USDA and BONAP to soothe my wandering mind so I quickly shot an email to Rick Gardner, one of Ohio's premiere botanists.  If anyone could point me in the right direction I figured he could.  The following morning Rick responded by saying he would check the records later in the week but suggested I get in touch with director of the herbarium at the Ohio State University, Dr. John Freudenstein.  Rick said Dr. Freudenstein had been working on the orchids of Ohio and had the most up-to-date county distribution maps for our state.

A few hours later my iPhone chimed the tone signaling a new email.  I quickly became excited to see a new message from Dr. Freudenstein and anxiously read his response.  After taking a look at the maps and the collection records from not only Ohio State's herbarium but Miami University and Ohio University as well he concluded it was safe to say both the Spiranthes lacera var. gracilis from Pearl King in Madison county and Spiranthes ovalis var. erostellata from Gallagher fen in Clark county were both new county records!  Pretty cool stuff if you ask me!  It's not every day you find a species of plant never previously known from the county before, but to find two on the same day and to both be from my beloved Orchidaceae family really puts a smile on my face.  Just goes to show you there is still plenty of things to discover out there in the botanical world and nothing is completely known.  Like I said before there is just something about the thrill of discovery that just can't be beat!

If you want a more in-depth look at these two species of orchid you can take a look at a post I did last fall on several species of Spiranthes to be found HERE.  I hope you vicariously enjoyed these discoveries and look forward to more detailed posts about the days finds and experiences at Pearl King and Gallagher Fen.  Thanks for tuning it!

The Ladies of Fall

A frequently asked question I receive is, "What is your favorite time of year?".  A question I can honestly say I have no true answer to.  To me every day is my favorite time of year because nature has an interesting way of making all 365 days unique and important, even during winter.  However, I could easily make the argument that Fall is extra great even if it only truly lasts a few weeks.  As the days become shorter and the sun starts to sink in the sky one of my absolute favorite families, Orchidaceae, shows off its other Ladies.

The Ladies' Tresses that is.  Spring is known for the five native Lady's Slipper orchids, much larger and showier than the Ladies of the Fall.  Nine species are native to our state and I was fortunate enough to encounter a few this season while on my many hikes in southeastern and southern Ohio.  The genus name for these inconspicuous orchids is Spiranthes, which is Latin for "spiral flower".  Judging from the photographs below I think the earliest Taxonomists captured a pretty accurate name for them.  These orchids, unlike almost all the other species, can be pretty difficult to get down to species.  A number of things can help make this process considerably easier.  Flowering time, size of the inflorescence (which is a fancy botany term for the 'flower(s)' on a plant), structure of the inflorescence, color of the inflorescence's 'throat', habitat and whether or not the plants leaves are visible/present during flowering are all quite diagnostic.

Spiranthes vernalis

Spiranthes vernalis

Spiranthes vernalis

 
Grass-leaved Ladies' Tresses, Spiranthes vernalis, is also known as Spring Ladies' Tresses which is quite an inaccurate common name for Ohio since this species blooms in late summer/early fall.  This orchid is much more common in its frequency and distribution in the South where it lives up the latter common name and blooms in Spring.  Being one of Ohio's tallest Spiranthes at over two feet and its yellow colored throat/lip help to I.D. this species in the field.  This species was found growing in it's usual habitat of an abandoned, dry field and is also found in dry meadows/prairies in either acidic or alkaline soils.  Personally, I think the inflorescence of this particular plant were a bit more robust than those of the norm which made for even better detail.  While not rare in Ohio, it is relatively uncommon and is mostly restricted to the southern most counties.

Spiranthes lacera

Spiranthes lacera

After discovering and photographing S. vernalis, I bumped into its close relative, Spiranthes lacera blooming all over the place in the same old field.  Known as Slender Ladies' Tresses this tiny orchid grows in the same types of habitat as the aforementioned species.  This orchid is almost identical to S. gracilis, a species that shares almost every aspect of S. lacera.  Some people treat them as separate species while others consider the latter as a variation: Spiranthes lacera var. gracilis.  Consulting my copy of The Monocotyledoneae of Ohio by Lucy Braun (an absolutely fantastic resource I constantly use), who separates them as two individual species, I believe the sample photographed above to be S. gracilis due to the small difference in the size/shape of the inflorescence and size of the green coloration on the lip or throat which is illustrated in the key.  My hesitation lies in the fact that I have an up-to-date and very thorough list of ALL the species of plants found on the Edge of Appalachia preserve and only S. lacera is listed as occurring on the preserve system which is where this plant was found.  Who am I to disagree about the I.D. of a plant that many smarter, better and more accomplished botanists have collected, looked over and identified?  Or maybe some botantists are just too picky and this really is just one species.  Regardless it is a splendid and beautifully delicate wildflower to be admired.

Spiranthes ovalis

Spiranthes ovalis

The third and final species of Ladies' Tresses I've encountered this Fall was the potentially state threatened Lesser Ladies' Tresses, Spiranthes ovalis.  Much more rare in Ohio than the previously mentioned two species, this small lady has only ever been collected and found in six southern Ohio counties according to the ODNR.  As I mentioned in my previous blog post regarding the Yellowish Gentian, Gentiana alba, this plant was found growing in the moist, calcareous soil where a seep emerged from the hillside.  There are two varieties to be found in the United States for this species.  The two are separated by the presence or absence of essential flowering organs but I won't go into the details to save some sanity and explanation.  Ohio's typical variety is that of Spiranthes ovalis var. erostellata, which does not contain the necessary flowering organs and thus is self pollinated while the other variety S. ovalis var. ovalis is insect pollinated.  Unfortunately due to the self pollination of our species it's quantities in the area are limited and usually only a few plants are found.  I was able to find just this one and she was just starting to bloom in mid September.