Spiranthes magnicamporum (Great Plains Ladies'-tresses orchid)

Alan Cressler, Max Medley, and I made a trip to a place I had heard of but never visited: Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Catoosa County, Georgia. In prior years, both Alan and Max had seen Spiranthes magnicamporum in the open parts of the prairies.

The thin soil is underlaid by varying thickness of limestone. This provides the basic consituent of soil that this orchid prefers.

We were very fortunate to find a handfull of flowering plants in states from just opening to already fruiting.

I had never photographed this species and was thrilled to finally see it in the wild...