RHH's photos with the keyword: olympica

Only a few more pictures to post from the Olympics. This is the view north from Hurrican Ridge (looking back toward Puget Sound and the Straits of San Juan). Some of the wildflowers for which this area is notable are visible in the foreground, including the miniature variety of Piperia unalascensis, the Alaskan Piperia. The picture was taken by my wife late in the day.

I took this picture to show the dwarf form of the Alaskan Piperia (Piperia unalascensis fma. olympica) - the light green flower spikes - in its habitat on Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. I am not entirely happy with the picture for obvious reasons. The other wildflowers in the picture are some I've posted recently, the bluish-purple a Lupine, probably the Subalpine Lupine, the red-orange the Harsh Paintbrush, the white cylindrical heads of flowers the Western Bistort with a dwarf Columbia Lily in the upper left of the picture.

The Alaskan Piperia, Piperia unalascensis, is a common and not very showy native orchid that is found along the Pacific Coast and across the northern USA and Canada. The plant can be quite tall, nearly three feet (80+ cm) but the flowers are tiny, around a 1/4 inch (5-7 mm). There is a dwarf form of this plant that grows on Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic Mountains that is less than a foot tall (30cm) and these flowers were photographed there.

This rather common and insignificant species is one we have seen only a few times. It ranges from Alaska all across Canada and through most of the western and northern United States. It is tall, up to 80 or 90 cm, but the flowers are tiny, though numerous, about a half a cm in size and numbering from 75-100 per spike. They are a pale green color and are slightly fragrant, especially at night. This is a miniature form (forma olympica) of this species that grows only on Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park in Washington. This plant is only 15-25 cm tall with fewer flowers, is abundant in that one location. Most of the following photos are of that particular plant, though the flowers are the same as the larger variety. In either variety the plant has only a couple of leaves which have often disappeared by flowering time. nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2011/01/a...