Jim Fowler's photos with the keyword: Southern Appalachian Mountains

These are the remainder of the Spiranthes orchid shots from yesterday's trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. The Spiranthes lacera variety gracilis were a huge, huge surprise, since they quit blooming in our immediate area in July! It's much cooler at 5500 feet in elevation, so I guess they got a later start. I found three plants in bloom while checking out the other Spiranthes ochroleuca blooming at the same site. I know, there are some "repeats" with the Spiranthes ochroleuca , but these were so nice that I had to take a few more shots... These particular orchids are tall and the stem is unbelievably thin. It was difficult to get it to keep still in the slight breeze up there. We wildflower photographers have our way, though. Some tiny forked sticks placed strategically around the stem (just below the shot) seem to work pretty well...

These are the remainder of the Spiranthes orchid shots from yesterday's trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. The Spiranthes lacera variety gracilis were a huge surprise, since they quit blooming in our immediate area in July! It's much cooler at 5500 feet in elevation, so I guess they got a later start. I found three plants in bloom while checking out the other Spiranthes ochroleuca blooming at the same site. I know, there are some "repeats" with the Spiranthes ochroleuca , but these were so nice that I had to take a few more shots... These are tall and the stem is unbelievably thin. It was difficult to get it to keep still in the slight breeze up there. We wildflower photographers have our way, though. Some tiny forked sticks placed strategically around the stem (just below the shot) seem to work pretty well...

These are the remainder of the Spiranthes orchid shots from yesterday's trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. The Spiranthes lacera variety gracilis were a huge surprise, since they quit blooming in our immediate area in July! It's much cooler at 5500 feet in elevation, so I guess they got a later start. I found three plants in bloom while checking out the other Spiranthes ochroleuca blooming at the same site. I know, there are some "repeats" with the Spiranthes ochroleuca , but these were so nice that I had to take a few more shots... I bent this one over so that I could photograph the underside of the flower's lip. One of the several characteristics of this species that helps differentiate it from its look-alikes is that it has a butterscotch colored patch on the underside of the lip.

These are the remainder of the Spiranthes orchid shots from yesterday's trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. The Spiranthes lacera variety gracilis were a huge surprise, since they quit blooming in our immediate area in July! It's much cooler at 5500 feet in elevation, so I guess they got a later start. I found three plants in bloom while checking out the other Spiranthes ochroleuca blooming at the same site. I know, there are some "repeats" with the Spiranthes ochroleuca , but these were so nice that I had to take a few more shots... Tall and graceful...

These are the remainder of the Spiranthes orchid shots from yesterday's trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. The Spiranthes lacera variety gracilis were a huge surprise, since they quit blooming in our immediate area in July! It's much cooler at 5500 feet in elevation, so I guess they got a later start. I found three plants in bloom while checking out the other Spiranthes ochroleuca blooming at the same site. I know, there are some "repeats" with the Spiranthes ochroleuca , but these were so nice that I had to take a few more shots... This was shot "up the hill" so that I could get a couple of sprays of Roan Mountain Goldenrod in the shot.

These are the remainder of the Spiranthes orchid shots from yesterday's trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. The Spiranthes lacera variety gracilis were a huge surprise, since they quit blooming in our immediate area in July! It's much cooler at 5500 feet in elevation, so I guess they got a later start. I found three plants in bloom while checking out the other Spiranthes ochroleuca blooming at the same site. I know, there are some "repeats" with the Spiranthes ochroleuca , but these were so nice that I had to take a few more shots... Nothing special; just a beautiful orchid...

These are the remainder of the Spiranthes orchid shots from yesterday's trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. The Spiranthes lacera variety gracilis were a huge surprise, since they quit blooming in our immediate area in July! It's much cooler at 5500 feet in elevation, so I guess they got a later start. I found three plants in bloom while checking out the other Spiranthes ochroleuca blooming at the same site. I know, there are some "repeats" with the Spiranthes ochroleuca , but these were so nice that I had to take a few more shots... Unlike the bees in my bog garden, these didn't seem to take much interest in the orchids. They were more interested in the goldenrod and gentian. I did manage to catch one bee just checking out this orchid while I was getting a closeup..

These are the remainder of the Spiranthes orchid shots from yesterday's trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. The Spiranthes lacera variety gracilis were a huge surprise, since they quit blooming in our immediate area in July! It's much cooler at 5500 feet in elevation, so I guess they got a later start. I found three plants in bloom while checking out the other Spiranthes ochroleuca blooming at the same site. I know, there are some "repeats" with the Spiranthes ochroleuca , but these were so nice that I had to take a few more shots... I managed to catch just the edge of some Stiff Gentian growing near this beauty...