2008-08-11 Day trip to the Pisgah National Forest, NC to photograph Triphora trianthophora (three-birds orchid).

Having the use of online weather data for the area around the Pisgah National Forest where there are several Triphora trianthophora populations, I was able to predict that August 11 would be a bloom day. Since it is a 1.5 hour drive from Greenville, SC to Brevard, NC, I wanted a method for at least narrowing down the bloom time so I wouldn't have to waste travel time to see it in bloom.

Triphora trianthophora does not bloom on a regular basis; moreover, it is usually a roll of the dice to find it in bloom. Even if you are lucky enough to find it in bloom, the flowers stay open only 5 or 6 hours, then begin closing up. But, today's prediction was right on. A few weeks earlier, I had heard from Larry Lynch of Richmond, VA, and he wanted to attempt to photograph Triphora. I told him that I would let him know when I "thought" it "might" be in bloom, and since he was going to be in the general area during that time, we made a date to see if I was right.

I got to the site about 9:30 am, and saw the previously swollen buds beginning to split open on their tips. Larry and his companion, Lauren, were in Tennessee photographing Platanthera integrilabia (monkey-face orchid) when they got my call. It would take them about 3.5 hours to drive the distance, but they made it to the Triphora site by 1:00 pm -- peak bloom time for the Triphora.

The following group of images show what we saw during the morning and afternoon. It concludes with an interesting set of images of the putative pollinator of Triphora trianthophora -- a Halictid bee species. However, I recently had a discussion with another Triphora trianthophora afficianado, and she thinks it might be self-pollinating. Whatever the case, the Halictid bee is getting something out of it, otherwise it would be doing its thing elsewhere.

*** Click on any image to enlarge it...