Wild Orchids at Moreau Lake State Park

The Native Orchids
of Moreau Lake State Park
Photographed by Jackie Donnelly
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Copyright © 2020 | All Rights Reserved | Jacqueline Donnelly
saratogawoodswaters.blogspot.com

Orchids are such fascinating flowers, evoking memories of Junior Prom
or Easter Sunday corsages. But of course, those were tropical orchids,
large florid flowers, all ruffles and fabulous colors. We do have a few
rather showy examples among the nearly 60 species of native orchids
that grow in New York State, but most of ours are more on the shy side,
many of them hiding away in cold northern bogs or deep tangled
woods, challenging habitats for the northern orchid hunter to access.
But lucky for us, a good number of orchids grow right here in Moreau
Lake State Park, and we’re actually quite likely to come upon them
while hiking the trails or paddling our lakes or the river. Let’s take a
look at a few of the native orchids that call this park their home.
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The Pink Lady’s Slipper is
probably our showiest – and
certainly the most abundant –
of all our orchids in the park.
When this lovely orchid finds a
habitat it likes, it can thrive by
the dozens at a site. It is
happiest in sandy soil under
pines, a habitat that is quite
common at Moreau Lake State
Park.
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Pink Lady’s Slipper Orchid (Cypripedium acaule)

Our next two orchids are among our
least showy, requiring a close look at
their blooms to appreciate their
“orchid-ness.” Both the Checkered
Rattlesnake Plantain (Goodyera
tesselata) and Downy Rattlesnake
Plantain (Goodyera pubescens) bear
tiny white florets in a spike on an erect
central stalk. The florets of both
species look very much alike. Here is a
close-up photo of one of them, the
Downy Rattlesnake Plantain. It has a
slightly more pouched lower lip than
does that of the Checkered Rattlesnake
Plantain.
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Rattlesnake Plantain Orchids (Goodyera species)

What really sets the two
species of Rattlesnake
Plantain apart are their
leaves, which lie in basal
rosettes close to the ground.
Here are the dark-green,
boldly patterned, curvaceous
leaves of the Downy
Rattlesnake Plantain. These
leaves are evergreen and can
be seen on the forest floor at
any time of the year.
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Downy Rattlesnake Plantain (Goodyera pubescens)

And here are the paler,
more subtly patterned
leaves of the
Checkered Rattlesnake
Plantain. These leaves
are also evergreen, but
are often hidden
under pine needles
that make them
difficult to find.
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Checkered Rattlesnake Plantain (Goodyera tesselata)

Here’s a photo of an
entire Rattlesnake
Plantain plant. As
the leaves indicate,
this is the Checkered
Rattlesnake Plantain,
but the Downy ones
look very similar,
except for their
more vividly
patterned leaves.
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Checkered Rattlesnake Plantain, whole plant

Our next three orchid species – the
Ladies’ Tresses Orchids – are not
very showy, either. Much like the
Rattlesnake Plantains, the Ladies’
Tresses bear spikes of small white
flowers on erect central stalks. Of
the three, our most abundant
species is the Nodding Ladies’
Tresses (Spiranthes cernua), shown
here, with pure-white florets that
have gracefully downward-curving
lower lips. I often find abundant
numbers of these pretty orchids
along the lake shore in early
September.
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Nodding Ladies’ Tresses Orchids (Spiranthes species)

A bit later in September, I sometimes
find just a few Yellow Ladies’ Tresses
growing in somewhat drier habitats. You
have to look close to discern how this
species differs from the Nodding Ladies’
Tresses, noting the subtle yellow cast to
the florets’ throats.
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Yellow Ladies’ Tresses (Spiranthes ochroleuca)

A much earlier bloomer than
the previous species, the
Shining Ladies’ Tresses is a
somewhat smaller plant with
florets that have a distinctly
yellow lower lip. I find this
species much less frequently.
If I’m lucky I might find one
or two plants along the
Hudson riverbanks in June.
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Shining Ladies’ Tresses (Spiranthes lucida)

Speaking of yellow, this next
orchid has a scientific name
(Platanthera flava) that translates
as “yellow orchid.” And yes, this
orchid is rather yellowish, but its
common name, Tubercled
Orchid, is descriptive of another
aspect of the plant. Note the
little bump (called a tubercle) on
the floret’s lower lip. This orchid
likes its feet wet, so look for it
along the river. I once found over
20 plants on one of the little
islands in the Hudson River.
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Yellow or Tubercled Orchid (Platanthera flava)

Here’s one of our showier native
orchids, the Smaller Purple
Fringed Orchid. Not only is this
orchid a gorgeous flower, it is
also a relatively common orchid.
Sometimes, that is. Orchids can
be frustratingly fickle, failing to
bloom where you found them
last year or even for several
years in a row. Luckily, I often
find this Purple Fringed Orchid
while paddling the Hudson in
July, although rarely in the exact
same location.
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Smaller Purple Fringed Orchid (Platanthera psycodes)

Ah, here’s another lovely orchid, one that
almost looks like the kind we pinned to our
prom dresses back in our high-school days,
only quite a bit smaller. This is the Rose
Pogonia, a wetland orchid that usually
prefers an acidic habitat, although it can
tolerate soils that are more neutral. Happily,
Moreau Park acquired some of its favorite
habitat when it gained ownership of Lake
Bonita atop Mount McGregor. If you go
looking for it there in early July, better bring
your binoculars, since it grows most
abundantly out on the little islands that
boaters are not allowed to approach, since
paddling is forbidden on this small pristine
lake.
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Rose Pogonia (Pogonia ophioglossoides)

Here’s one more rather showy orchid
that grows in Moreau Lake State
Park. In fact, its name is actually
Showy Orchis. I don’t find this orchid
very often though, because to seek it
out, I would have to risk scraping the
undercarriage off my car on the rocky
Hawk Road lane that leads to the
parking area for the park’s Warren
County trails on the other side of the
Hudson. The soil over there is
calcareous, which is what this orchid
requires. At least I did find it once, or
I wouldn’t have this photo to prove
it!
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Showy Orchid (Galearis spectabilis)

The Green Wood Orchid is not only very small, it
is also very greenish, the same color as its
swampy surroundings. And it also grows in deep
shade, two factors that make it difficult to focus
my camera on it, so this is the clearest photo I
have of it. It also grows in very wet, muddy
spots, so I often have to squat down low to take
its picture, getting both my feet and my fanny
wet in the process. It’s a rather common orchid
in northern New York, though, so you might find
it growing on lakeshores and riverbanks, as well
as in swamps. Another name for it is Little
Clubspur Orchid, suggested by the very long
spurs that descend from its small blooms.
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Green Wood Orchid (Platanthera clavellata)

The Early Coralroot Orchid shares
the same swampy habitat as the
Green Wood Orchid, but it
blooms in the forested swamp in
the spring, before the tree
canopy closes in. That allowed
some light to penetrate the
gloom and pick out the yellow
flowers of this tiny leafless
orchid, which otherwise would
have been very difficult to spot
among the mossy, grassy, muddy
habitat it prefers.
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Early Coralroot Orchid (Corallorhiza trifida)

Spotted Coralroot is a small woodland
orchid whose ocher-colored leafless stems
and buds make it very difficult to see, down
among the similarly colored late-summer
leaf litter. And even when its flowers are
wide open, they’re certainly not exactly
showy, although a close look reveals some
rather pretty purple polka dots. Like all the
coralroots, it has no leaves to
photosynthesize and thus has to obtain its
nutrients from certain fungi in the soil.
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Spotted Coralroot (Corallorhiza maculata)

Talk about a little orchid that’s hard to see!
The Autumn Coralroot doesn’t even show
up until its autumn surroundings assume
the same color as its minuscule plants. And
then, if you do happen to see its ruddy
leafless stems poking up from amid the
fallen leaves, you might think the flowers
had finished blooming. But those little dark-
tipped wisps descending from greenish-
yellow bracts are all the flower you are ever
likely to see on this plant. Its flowers are
“cleistogamous”, meaning closed and self-
pollinating, so they never have to open to
allow any pollinating insects to enter. Not a
rare orchid, just one that is very well
disguised.
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Autumn Coralroot (Corallorhiza odontorhiza)

I had actually been taking photos of it for years,
assuming it was the ordinary Autumn Coralroot,
until an orchid-artist named Dan Wall saw my photos
and suspected the open flowers and broad lower lip
looked as if they belonged to the Pringle’s variety,
and he set the wheels in motion to confirm that they
were indeed, this super-rare species. Just one more
piece of evidence to prove that Moreau Lake State
Park is truly a hotbed of rare and protected species
of native wildflowers. Including lots of orchids!
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Pringle’s Autumn Coralroot (Corallorhiza
odontorhiza var. pringlei)
The standard variety of Autumn Coralroot is hardly a rare plant. But the PRINGLE’S variety sure is!
Until a substantial population of this orchid was discovered at Moreau Lake State Park just last year,
this extremely rare plant had not been seen anywhere in the state since 1903 and was assumed to
be extirpated.

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Just a reminder: The picking or uprooting of ANY plants in
a state park (whether rare or common) is strictly forbidden
and is, in fact, illegal and punishable by a fine. In the case
of orchids, especially, most species depend on soil fungi to
deliver the nutrients necessary for their survival, so
attempts at transplanting to a home garden will usually
result in the death of the plants.

About
Jackie
Donnelly
Jackie Donnelly is a wildflower enthusiast and nature
writer/photographer who lives in Saratoga Springs but can often be
found exploring the woods and waterways of Moreau Lake State Park
and other natural areas of northeastern New York. A longtime member
of the Friends of Moreau Lake State Park, Jackie documents her nature
adventures in her blog Saratoga Woods and Waterways
21Copyright © 2020 | All Rights Reserved | Jacqueline Donnelly

Wild Orchids at Moreau Lake State Park

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