RHH's photos with the keyword: larrabee state park

The Broad-leaved Helleborine is usually counted among our native orchids, since it has naturalized in many different locations, but it is in fact not a native and not even a North American species. It was brought to eastern Canada by settlers in the 19th century who used it to curdle milk, and has since spread across southern Canada and the United States. Interestingly, we've found it mostly long railways or old abandoned tracks.

This is the third native orchid of the season to be blooming in our area (I don't think I posted the second). It's the Striped Coralroot, Corallorhiza striata var. striata. I was out today and hiked about 13 miles doing some orchid hunting in new areas, but this I found in a location in Larrabee State Park where we had seen this orchid before. The Coralroots are myco-heterotrophic, depending for their food on a complex relationship with a soil fungus. They have no chlorophyll of their own and no leaves, so all one ever find is an erect flower spike, hard to see before the blooms open and almost invisible after the blooms are finished.

This picture was taken in Larrabee State Park and looks across Puget Sound to the San Juan Islands. It is SOOC.

Was at Clayton Beach in Larrabee State Park for a while yesterday and photographed this young couple walking in the water. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2010/08/larrabee-st...

Here's another shot of the Pacific Madrone, showing its orange-red peeling bark, its smooth green or tan wood, and the Strait of San Juan de Fuca where it grows. It is native to the Pacific coast from California to British Columbia and is one of our most striking native trees. This photo was taken at Clayton Beach in Larrabee State Park south of Bellingham. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/09/clayton-bea...

This is one of the native orchids that we go see in Larrabee State Park. The trail to Clayton Beach, a remote area of the park, follows a path through the woods, crosses a railroad track and includes a couple of scrambles down the rocks. This orchid is found above and below the tracks and along them. Epipactis helleborine, the Broad-leaved Helleborine, is not truly a native, but a European import first found in the US in 1878 that has spread all across the northern part of the country and of southern Canada. It is one of two Epipactis species in the Pacific Northwest, the other a true native. nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2012/10/t...

Here's another photo of the Broad-leaved Helleborine, the European plant that was, according to the reports I've read, introduced into this country by settlers who considered it a remedy for gout. This photo of a more colorful form than the green and pink flowers I posted earlier (see below) There is huge variation in these. The plants themselves vary in size from a foot to four feet tall. The flowers vary in color from green to a deep pink or purple and the flowers, which also vary a great deal in number, are sometimes widely spaced as on this stem and sometimes crowded together. nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2010/09/b...

Clayton Beach is part of Larrabee State Park, a beautiful park that fronts the Straits of San Juan and includes the Chuckanut Mountains, a low range that connects the North Cascades with the sea. Clayton Beach is known for its unusual formations of Chuckanut sandstone, some of which can be seen in this picture. The picture was taken late in the summer on an excursion to see the native orchids that were blooming in the area, especially the Broad-leaved Helleborine, Epipactis helleborine. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/09/clayton-bea...

Taken on the Fragrance Lake trail in Larrabee State Park, this gives an idea of what our northwestern forests are like, green and mossy with ferns everywhere. Many thanks to those who identified the fern for me.

This is the same native orchid species I posted a few days ago, but a close-up of the flowers. The photo was taken on a rainy day in Larrabee State Park along the Interurban Trail. The Coralroots are mycotrophic plants, without leaves or chlorophyll and depending on a relationship with a fungus for nourishment. This is the showiest of our five species of Coralroots. nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2012/05/s...

I believe this is the Small-flowered Forget-me-not, Myosotis laxa, just beginning to open. If my ID is correct it is a native that is common here here, and was photographed near Clayton Beach.

Photographed at Clayton Beach. He was fishing at the edge of an ebbing tide and as I approached flew away. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/09/clayton-bea...

One more picture from Clayton Beach. This area is now closed off to the public, since the path crosses a railroad track. People have been crossing the track for years and no one has ever gotten hurt, but the railroad has said that the lines of sight are not good and has probably put up fences to stop people, though I have not been there yet and have not seen seen what they've done. It is a shame not only because the beach was a very popular spot for families, and because it has some unusual sandstone formations, but because it is part of a state park and ought to be open to the public.

One more picture of this species, this time of a very dark flowered plant, this one also from the Clayton Beach area of Larrabee State Park. The variation in color, flower number, and size of the plants is amazing. nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2010/09/b...

My photos of this orchid species have drawn considerable comment from those who know it in Europe and who are surprised at how different these plants are from what they know. Here is another photo showing a side view of the flowers. The whole matter has interested me to the point that I hope to do further investigation this summer when they bloom again and will check with the University of Washington Herbarium to see if they can give me any information. For those who have not seen the previous photos, this is the Broad-leaved Helleborine, a non-native, introduced into this country in the late 1800's by European settlers. nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2010/09/b...

I've been posting close-ups of the wood and bark of the Pacific Madrone or Madrona (Arbutus menziesii) and thought I ought to post a picture of the tree. This photo, too, was taken at Clayton Beach in Larrabee State Park. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2010/08/larrabee-st...

Photographed at Clayton Beach. If I am not mistaken, this is the skeleton of the Eccentric or Pacific Sand Dollar or Biscuit Sea Urchin, Dendraster excentricus. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2010/08/larrabee-st...

Last week Friday my wife and I had planned to go hiking but woke up to rain. We decided in the end to go anyway and took our ponchos along to help keep us and our camera equipment dry. We hiked up to Fragrance Lake in Larrabee State Park in the Chuckanuts. We did not find any orchids in bloom (did find a few that were not yet blooming), and didn't find many other wildflowers either, and so concentrated on getting some pictures that would show what our Pacific Northwest forests are like on a rainy day. This photo was taken at the lake itself and gives a good idea of what the day was like. My apologies, too, for the delay in commenting. I was out hiking and orchid hunting all day and have a science fair to go to this evening, but will catch everyone up before the day is over. Visited five different places today on Whidbey and Fidalgo Islands and hiked about five miles. That was all I was able to do with a gimpy leg that I hurt playing softball. I found three different orchid species, Fairy Slippers and two different Coralroots in bloom and found a white Fairy Slipper as well. Thanks for your patience and for all the comments and visits. They are very much appreciated. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-wet-walk-...