Here is a bit of background -
Spiranthes cernua, commonly known as Ladies' tresses is a small terrestrial Orchid, native to New England, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, South Dakota to Nova Scotia, South to Texas and Florida. (Wild Orchids of of the Northeastern United States, A Field Guide by Paul Martin Brown) Flowering time starts at the end of August and lasts into October or very early November.
We discovered them more than 25 years ago at our place near Fleetville in NE Pennsylvania and we have been tracking them ever since, at our place, at nearby road sides where they come up in ditches and disturbed soil - AND - one year while driving North on rt 380 towards Scranton we discovered a large slope, surely at least 50 yards long, full of blooming plants right next to the highway. Now, we have never come across stands of thousands of blooming Orchids in our temperate zone, only in tropical places like Ecuador! But this slope is too steep to be mowed and also the standing water/brook at the bottom of the slope protects that spot - so far!!
These Orchids love a lot of water, full sun and excellent drainage. In drier Summers they bloom nicely, but in wet Summers as we had this year, the amount of spikes are at their most numerous! We had a fairly wet Summer this year and when we stopped today at the rt 380 stand, we were not disappointed! There were surely a few thousand spikes in bloom and the lovely scent of anise was strongly in the air!
Please do open some of the thumbnails to get an idea of the density of the plants in blooms.

Arriving at our place we first checked on our stand next to the pond. "Ours" don't grow as dense, but this year we saw plants not just at the water's edge, but also higher up in bloom.



Some companion plants - the height of the Goldenrod is ridiculous this year


And I am showing one more location- the neighbor's slope. We found quite a few plants in bloom. This slope used to house lots of Cladonia Lichen, which have now disappeared since the soil got richer through the years. Except - I still find some patches of the Pink Earth Lichen or Dibaeis baeomyces amongst the somewhat stunted wildflowers there and the grasses

And here are some more plants in bloom



And to top it off some pretty mushrooms in the woods.


Normally we see additional Spiranthes cernua in the ditches of the dirt road leading to our place, unfortunately someone mowed the field a couple of weeks ago neatly right to the edges and took surely dozens of blooming spikes along with that. Too bad!

I hope it is ok, I copied the page out of the above mentioned field guide to give more details on this charming little Orchid.


Please enjoy!

Just fabulous, what a tremendous pictorial!
I have seen orchids in the wild many times over the years and I never tire of them. I kind of feel the same way towards Trilliums, Jack in the Pulpit, May Apple and a few others. But each and every orchid is priceless!
I felt that way ever since I had botany field trips in college. Orchids were like a cut above everything else.
But alas, it is not a feeling shared by many . Mowing over orchids is nothing more to many people then keeping my place and property neat. They have no idea of what they mow over nor should they!
But I feel like I have had many wonderful experiences in the field, I have seen so many wonderful things and I have seen one more with this thread. Orchid people are an odd lot I guess you can say. So are birdwatchers, now there is a weird looking group!!!
I wonder what has driven me in this direction many, many times and it finally hit me some years back! It gives me a chance to see and enjoy the Lords handywork! Some see it by boating, some by flying, some by traveling in an RV. I see it in the woodlands, the lakes, the bogs, the flowers the birds and animals. Am I a tad odd? Perhaps. But it keeps me anchored. A Being far greater then me has created it all and I am bound and determined to enjoy every little bit of it!!
Thanks Ursula.

Thanks Bill! I am glad you like it.
Klaus and I feel the same about other wildflowers too, starting in April with Colt's foot and Trilliums and going through the seasons! Watching the wildlife and everything else.
It's what gets us walking through our place and the local woods around here. There is truly so much to be enjoyed!

Just lovely,Ursula!
Easy to see why it's called 'Ladies Tresses'
How wonderful that you've been able to see these huge perennial swaths,
Basically left alone for so many years. Thanks for taking us along with you!

Thanks Lindsey!
Perhaps you can imagine the excitement when you stop your car on a busy highway and see and smell THAT! ?

I remember seeing the Spiranthes last year but I do not recall when it had to be later in the Fall as we did not move to FL until mid October. I will surely start looking now though. Thanks for that remarkable show and for the reminder Ursula.
Is it the highway dept. that mows or an individual? In some areas the highway depts have designated "no mow" areas to protect native wildflowers.

Alice, I would have no idea who mows those edges. I would be afraid to mention it to anyone doing the job in the fear, they might go digging. Luckily this slope is too wet, I always pick my way carefully through the "water feature" at the bottom or I sit with soaked sneakers back in the car. We always hope that saves them.
Btw you can cut the vegetation until July 4. without harm. The only problem is, the more you cut, the stronger the vegetation grows back, eventually drowning out the Spiranthes.