What if you get invited to join some botany friends on a roadside fieldtrip to see some rare blooms? You say YES of course. I may not be able to hike but I can photograph. So YES, I’m happy to be invited and even happier to get to see some gems I’ve had on my list. In this case three rare Lady’s Slipper orchids and the Klamath Mountain Catchfly, plus a few bonuses.
Mountain Lady’s Slipper Orchid, Cypripedium montanum. California Rare Plant Rank 4.2.
California Lady’s Slipper, Cypripedium californicum. California Rare Plant Rank: 4.2
Clustered Lady’s Slipper, Cypripedium fasciculatum. California Rare Plant Rank: 4.2
Stream orchid aka Chatterbox, Epipactis gigantea (not rare)
Klamath Mountain Catchfly, Silene salmonacea. California Rare Plant Rank 1B.2
Shasta Lily aka Leopard Lily. Lilium pardalinum ssp. shastense
YES I felt like I won the lottery. What a wonderful botany fieldtrip. It was exciting to find more blooms on my bucket list. Thanks friends!
Beautiful! I love the Klamath Mountain Catchfly!
I believe this was my first sighting. I searched my photo library and didn’t find anything. They are so bright. We looked a few weeks later and absolutely no evidence they existed.
Ooooo. Rare orchids! What a find! Having botany friends to help find gems like these makes a hike so rewarding. My trouble is that I’m looking up for birds as well which makes it a challenge to look for flowers too.
Birds are so much harder since they don’t like to sit for portrait sessions.