On Aug 16th, 2015, I was finally able to add the Three Birds orchid (Triphora trianthophora) to my life list. Orchid friend Mark Larocque lives near a great site for the species and had invited me to join him for a foray into the woods. The wild card with this species is timing one's trip to hopefully coincide with a mass-blooming wave, which occur usually three times over a 30 day period. The blossoms last 6-7 hours and then wilt.

This year it seems that we missed the "wave" by one day. Fellow New York botanist Michael Feder was there on Aug 15th and all the flowers were wide open. But all was not lost; a small number of orchids didn't receive the blooming memo and were prime for our visit. Thank heavens, as I had driven over 300 miles each way through very heavy traffic to hopefully see the species!

The site itself is truly phenomenal and is roadside botanizing at its best. Hundreds of dainty orchids fill a beech woods on the right side of the road, continuing down a slope into a hemlock forest. They also grow in staggering numbers on the left road shoulder, almost right up to the pavement, but do not continue into the woods (primarily maple) on that side of the road. We spent several very enjoyable hours exploring the site and waiting for the orchids to open en masse. By noon they hadn't and we began to realize that they were "day-old" goods. But still attractive! A great orchid adventure and the day was saved by a few nonconformists.

I've included two "documentation" IPhone images of Tipularia discolor (Crane-fly Orchid) which the family and I were lucky enough to locate in a woods on the eastern end of Long Island on Aug 8th. This is the only extant site in NY state and finds the orchid at the far northern end of its range.

Enjoy the images!