Ponthieva racemosa

At the Ponthieva racemosa locality, we found thousands of plants, but almost all were past bloom and were producing seed. Fortunately, there were three plants that still had a couple of flowers left. We are spending the weekend along the Atlantic Coastal Plain. This is a great time for fall wildflowers, including native orchids. Our first stop was the Francis Marion National Forest near Charleston, South Carolina.

At the Ponthieva racemosa locality, we found thousands of plants, but almost all were past bloom and were producing seed. Fortunately, there were three plants that still had a couple of flowers left. We are spending the weekend along the Atlantic Coastal Plain. This is a great time for fall wildflowers, including native orchids. Our first stop was the Francis Marion National Forest near Charleston, South Carolina.

At the Ponthieva racemosa locality, we found thousands of plants, but almost all were past bloom and were producing seed. Fortunately, there were three plants that still had a couple of flowers left. We are spending the weekend along the Atlantic Coastal Plain. This is a great time for fall wildflowers, including native orchids. Our first stop was the Francis Marion National Forest near Charleston, South Carolina.

Those damn mosquitoes!!! I've never seen them any worse than today when I was trying to concentrate on focus and composure -- both of which I lost early on... Anyway, these strange little orchids were growing in profusion in a swampy area way off the beaten path. They seem to prefer a swampy, shaded habitat; a perfect place for biting insects. The flowers are non-resupinate, which means the lip is uppermost rather than being in a lower position as seen in the large majority of other native orchids. With resupinate orchids, the flowers twist 180 degrees as they open so that the lip is lowermost. The leaves form a basal rosette and are a uniform, medium green. This orchid species is found in the Southeast from Texas to Virginia. Hairy shadow-witch orchid -- isn't that a wonderful name for such an unusual looking flower? Its botanical name is in honor of Henri de Ponthieu, a French botanist who, in 1778, collected and botanized in the Caribbean where this plant is also found (Puerto Rico).

Those damn mosquitoes!!! I've never seen them any worse than today when I was trying to concentrate on focus and composure -- both of which I lost early on... Anyway, these strange little orchids were growing in profusion in a swampy area way off the beaten path. They seem to prefer a swampy, shaded habitat; a perfect place for biting insects. The flowers are non-resupinate, which means the lip is uppermost rather than being in a lower position as seen in the large majority of other native orchids. With resupinate orchids, the flowers twist 180 degrees as they open so that the lip is lowermost. The leaves form a basal rosette and are a uniform, medium green. This orchid species is found in the Southeast from Texas to Virginia. Hairy shadow-witch orchid -- isn't that a wonderful name for such an unusual looking flower? Its botanical name is in honor of Henri de Ponthieu, a French botanist who, in 1778, collected and botanized in the Caribbean where this plant is also found (Puerto Rico).

Those damn mosquitoes!!! I've never seen them any worse than today when I was trying to concentrate on focus and composure -- both of which I lost early on... Anyway, these strange little orchids were growing in profusion in a swampy area way off the beaten path. They seem to prefer a swampy, shaded habitat; a perfect place for biting insects. The flowers are non-resupinate, which means the lip is uppermost rather than being in a lower position as seen in the large majority of other native orchids. With resupinate orchids, the flowers twist 180 degrees as they open so that the lip is lowermost. The leaves form a basal rosette and are a uniform, medium green. This orchid species is found in the Southeast from Texas to Virginia. Hairy shadow-witch orchid -- isn't that a wonderful name for such an unusual looking flower? Its botanical name is in honor of Henri de Ponthieu, a French botanist who, in 1778, collected and botanized in the Caribbean where this plant is also found (Puerto Rico).

Those damn mosquitoes!!! I've never seen them any worse than today when I was trying to concentrate on focus and composure -- both of which I lost early on... Anyway, these strange little orchids were growing in profusion in a swampy area way off the beaten path. They seem to prefer a swampy, shaded habitat; a perfect place for biting insects. The flowers are non-resupinate, which means the lip is uppermost rather than being in a lower position as seen in the large majority of other native orchids. With resupinate orchids, the flowers twist 180 degrees as they open so that the lip is lowermost. The leaves form a basal rosette and are a uniform, medium green. This orchid species is found in the Southeast from Texas to Virginia. Hairy shadow-witch orchid -- isn't that a wonderful name for such an unusual looking flower? Its botanical name is in honor of Henri de Ponthieu, a French botanist who, in 1778, collected and botanized in the Caribbean where this plant is also found (Puerto Rico).

Those damn mosquitoes!!! I've never seen them any worse than today when I was trying to concentrate on focus and composure -- both of which I lost early on... Anyway, these strange little orchids were growing in profusion in a swampy area way off the beaten path. They seem to prefer a swampy, shaded habitat; a perfect place for biting insects. The flowers are non-resupinate, which means the lip is uppermost rather than being in a lower position as seen in the large majority of other native orchids. With resupinate orchids, the flowers twist 180 degrees as they open so that the lip is lowermost. The leaves form a basal rosette and are a uniform, medium green. This orchid species is found in the Southeast from Texas to Virginia. Hairy shadow-witch orchid -- isn't that a wonderful name for such an unusual looking flower? Its botanical name is in honor of Henri de Ponthieu, a French botanist who, in 1778, collected and botanized in the Caribbean where this plant is also found (Puerto Rico).

Those damn mosquitoes!!! I've never seen them any worse than today when I was trying to concentrate on focus and composure -- both of which I lost early on... Anyway, these strange little orchids were growing in profusion in a swampy area way off the beaten path. They seem to prefer a swampy, shaded habitat; a perfect place for biting insects. The flowers are non-resupinate, which means the lip is uppermost rather than being in a lower position as seen in the large majority of other native orchids. With resupinate orchids, the flowers twist 180 degrees as they open so that the lip is lowermost. The leaves form a basal rosette and are a uniform, medium green. This orchid species is found in the Southeast from Texas to Virginia. Hairy shadow-witch orchid -- isn't that a wonderful name for such an unusual looking flower? Its botanical name is in honor of Henri de Ponthieu, a French botanist who, in 1778, collected and botanized in the Caribbean where this plant is also found (Puerto Rico).

Those damn mosquitoes!!! I've never seen them any worse than today when I was trying to concentrate on focus and composure -- both of which I lost early on... Anyway, these strange little orchids were growing in profusion in a swampy area way off the beaten path. They seem to prefer a swampy, shaded habitat; a perfect place for biting insects. The flowers are non-resupinate, which means the lip is uppermost rather than being in a lower position as seen in the large majority of other native orchids. With resupinate orchids, the flowers twist 180 degrees as they open so that the lip is lowermost. The leaves form a basal rosette and are a uniform, medium green. This orchid species is found in the Southeast from Texas to Virginia. Hairy shadow-witch orchid -- isn't that a wonderful name for such an unusual looking flower? Its botanical name is in honor of Henri de Ponthieu, a French botanist who, in 1778, collected and botanized in the Caribbean where this plant is also found (Puerto Rico).

Those damn mosquitoes!!! I've never seen them any worse than today when I was trying to concentrate on focus and composure -- both of which I lost early on... Anyway, these strange little orchids were growing in profusion in a swampy area way off the beaten path. They seem to prefer a swampy, shaded habitat; a perfect place for biting insects. The flowers are non-resupinate, which means the lip is uppermost rather than being in a lower position as seen in the large majority of other native orchids. With resupinate orchids, the flowers twist 180 degrees as they open so that the lip is lowermost. The leaves form a basal rosette and are a uniform, medium green. This orchid species is found in the Southeast from Texas to Virginia. Hairy shadow-witch orchid -- isn't that a wonderful name for such an unusual looking flower? Its botanical name is in honor of Henri de Ponthieu, a French botanist who, in 1778, collected and botanized in the Caribbean where this plant is also found (Puerto Rico).

Those damn mosquitoes!!! I've never seen them any worse than today when I was trying to concentrate on focus and composure -- both of which I lost early on... Anyway, these strange little orchids were growing in profusion in a swampy area way off the beaten path. They seem to prefer a swampy, shaded habitat; a perfect place for biting insects. The flowers are non-resupinate, which means the lip is uppermost rather than being in a lower position as seen in the large majority of other native orchids. With resupinate orchids, the flowers twist 180 degrees as they open so that the lip is lowermost. The leaves form a basal rosette and are a uniform, medium green. This orchid species is found in the Southeast from Texas to Virginia. Hairy shadow-witch orchid -- isn't that a wonderful name for such an unusual looking flower? Its botanical name is in honor of Henri de Ponthieu, a French botanist who, in 1778, collected and botanized in the Caribbean where this plant is also found (Puerto Rico).

Those damn mosquitoes!!! I've never seen them any worse than today when I was trying to concentrate on focus and composure -- both of which I lost early on... Anyway, these strange little orchids were growing in profusion in a swampy area way off the beaten path. They seem to prefer a swampy, shaded habitat; a perfect place for biting insects. The flowers are non-resupinate, which means the lip is uppermost rather than being in a lower position as seen in the large majority of other native orchids. With resupinate orchids, the flowers twist 180 degrees as they open so that the lip is lowermost. The leaves form a basal rosette and are a uniform, medium green. This orchid species is found in the Southeast from Texas to Virginia. Hairy shadow-witch orchid -- isn't that a wonderful name for such an unusual looking flower? Its botanical name is in honor of Henri de Ponthieu, a French botanist who, in 1778, collected and botanized in the Caribbean where this plant is also found (Puerto Rico).

With fall approaching, it is time to get back down to the coast to shoot a few images of the fall wildflowers and the Hairy Shadow-witch orchid in the Francis Marion National Forest. I managed to capture some of each as well as a few butterfly images and a respectable collection of chigger bites... For more images and the trip report, please check out Jim's Blog .

With fall approaching, it is time to get back down to the coast to shoot a few images of the fall wildflowers and the Hairy Shadow-witch orchid in the Francis Marion National Forest. I managed to capture some of each as well as a few butterfly images and a respectable collection of chigger bites... For more images and the trip report, please check out Jim's Blog .

With fall approaching, it is time to get back down to the coast to shoot a few images of the fall wildflowers and the Hairy Shadow-witch orchid in the Francis Marion National Forest. I managed to capture some of each as well as a few butterfly images and a respectable collection of chigger bites... For more images and the trip report, please check out Jim's Blog .

With fall approaching, it is time to get back down to the coast to shoot a few images of the fall wildflowers and the Hairy Shadow-witch orchid in the Francis Marion National Forest. I managed to capture some of each as well as a few butterfly images and a respectable collection of chigger bites... For more images and the trip report, please check out Jim's Blog .

With fall approaching, it is time to get back down to the coast to shoot a few images of the fall wildflowers and the Hairy Shadow-witch orchid in the Francis Marion National Forest. I managed to capture some of each as well as a few butterfly images and a respectable collection of chigger bites... For more images and the trip report, please check out Jim's Blog .