Encountering the elusive orchid

Conserved, hunted and sometimes poached like animals, orchids are sought after for their variety and pomp, said Ben Shreves, a botanical consultant. 

This time, Shreves was on the hunt for rare plants and weeds in the Shoshone National Forest, near the Wyoming-Montana border, on a conservation assignment for the U.S. Forest Service when he eyed the bright orange polyp of the Spotted coral root (Corallorhiza maculata). 

The orchid’s uncannily aquatic appearance lacks green, a product of its parasitic rather than photosynthetic tendencies. 

For a South Dakota native, this was Shreve’s first time seeing the Corallorhiza maculata genus. But his local companions — whom he calls true Wyoming botanists — had seen them many times before. 

“[These orchids] are common enough if you can find the right habitat. But that’s the hard part I guess, as they kind of take you off the beaten path,” Shreves said.

For aspiring orchid hunters, the best places to look are the belts between forested areas and wetter regions, like alpine lakes, creeks or drainages, Shreves said. 

“It’s really not that difficult, honestly, if you’re not afraid to get a little dirty.” 

In the same trip he found a Fairy slipper (Calypso bulbosa), Elephant’s head (Pedicularis groenlandica) and a Clustered broomrape (Orobanche fasciculata).  

What the team was really looking for though, and Shreves has yet to find, was the Amerorchis rotundifolia, or the Round-leaved orchid. 

“If you find that, that’s the crown jewel. In Wyoming … if you’ve found over 50 in your lifetime, you’re considered like a chosen one.” 

Follow Shreve’s adventures on Twitter @botanistben and on Instagram @ben_the_botanist. Okay