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Old 02-09-2004, 03:43 PM
wendy7
 
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Default the natives (orchids) are restless - NB...

A superb job Prem, also your website is tremendous!
I love the animated Encyclia tampensis with the butterfly?
NB...Did you get my private email?

--
Cheers Wendy

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prem_s wrote:
The natives are restless and looking for sex...

The native orchids in Florida tend to bloom in two main clusters,
spring and fall, with a few blooming in summertime and a few in
winter in deepest southern Florida. Here at the end of August and
the beginning of September, Epidendrum magnoliae may still throw a
spike or two, although its main blooming was in early summertimem and
Encyclia tampensis may still have a straggling spike at this time of
year, although its chief blooming time was in early-mid June.

http://www.premdesign.com/orchidpics...agnoliae02.jpg

http://www.premdesign.com/orchidpics...ampensis02.jpg

but the main thrust of the summer-fall blooming is in the wetlands.
Many species of Habenaria and the related Platanthera put forth their
blooms, making for some of the showiest displays of any of the
terrestrial orchids.

But first, let's take a look at one of the less showy (and perhaps
even weedy) of the Habenarias, H. repens, aka the Water Spider
Orchid. It is one of the few Florida orchids that could truly be
considered aquatic, often growing in standing water, and sometimes
even growing in mats of floating vegetation. The flowers are about a
half inch (1.25 cm) across. At first blush, the structure of these
flowers may be difficult to decipher, seeming to be composed of eight
floral parts. In actuality, it is just the normal six parts. The
dorsal and two lateral sepals form a hood and wings, respectively and
the tri-lobed lip hangs downward. What is interesting about this
flower (and somewhat unusual for the orchid world) is that the petals
are deeply bilobed--one lobe wraps around the edge of the sepaline
hood while the other lobe juts out into the air. The inconspicuous
flowers become powerfully and sweetly fragrant at night, belying
their true pollinator--a night-flying moth. These orchids produce
numerous offshoots via stolons as well as growing from seed, allowing
them to multiply rapidly in a suitable habitat.
http://www.premdesign.com/orchidpics...pens_spike.jpg

http://www.premdesign.com/orchidpics...ns_closeup.jpg

We turn our attention next to the moist pinelands, savannahs, and
roadsides. It is here that two of the smaller of the Platantheras
grow. Platanthera cristata, or the crested fringed orchid, is not a
very big plant, having a raceme of flowers usually only 2-4 inches
tall on a plant that might stand up to 30 inches tall, but it's
usually a lot shorter, probably around 12 inches in height. Platanthera
integra, or the orange fringeless orchid, is about the
same size as P. cristata, but has a more compact raceme and, true to
its name, no fringe on the lip. Both species have flowers that are
usually a bright yellowish-orange in color:

http://www.premdesign.com/orchidpics...a_cristata.jpg

http://www.premdesign.com/orchidpics...integra_01.jpg

http://www.premdesign.com/orchidpics...integra_02.jpg

http://www.premdesign.com/orchidpics...mall_spike.jpg

We now progress in size to Platanthera chapmanii (also known as P. x
chapmanii, a natural hybrid designation), which is intermediate in
size between P. cristata and the largest of the fringe orchids, P.
ciliaris. In fact, it is considered by many to be a natural hybrid
or otherwise intergrade between the two species. It, however,
maintains stable populations in places where both parents are absent
and is elevated in some works to be a species in its own right. The
flower is intermediate in size between the half-inch of P. cristata
and the 1-plus inch of P. ciliaris. The petals are small, staying
sheltered under the dorsal sepalline hood. The deeply fringed lip
protrudes below, its back end forming into a long spur (evidently to
force butterflies to probe deeply and stick their faces right into
the waiting column):
http://www.premdesign.com/orchidpics...manii_0804.jpg

http://www.premdesign.com/orchidpics...04_closeup.jpg

Our final orchids are the giants of the bog. The white fringed
orchid, Platanthera conspicua (aka P. blephariglottis v. conspicua),
raises its head of white flowers as high as three feet off the bog
soil, but usually about half that height. The lip of the flower is
around an inch long, giving the flower a vertical span of nearly 1.5
inches. The flower structure is similar to P. cristata and P.
chapmanii, although on a larger (and whiter) scale:

http://www.premdesign.com/orchidpics...ua_spike01.jpg

http://www.premdesign.com/orchidpics..._closeup01.jpg

Our final bog orchid, Platanthera ciliaris, is the true giant of the
bog, with flowers just a touch larger than its cousin, P.
conspicua/blephariglottis. The flower head itself can be up to 8
inches tall and carry up to 60 buds and flowers. It's usually a bit
smaller than that, but when one sees an impressive specimen at near
its full height, the experience cannot be forgotten:

http://www.premdesign.com/orchidpics...full_spike.jpg

http://www.premdesign.com/orchidpics...is_closeup.jpg

More native orchid images can be seen on my orchid gallery:

http://www.premdesign.com/orchidpics/orchidpicshq.htm

---Prem



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