Featured — Lost Orchids of Maryland - North American Orchid Conservation Center

Maryland

The Maryland landscape cuts across three main physiographic provinces. The Coastal Plain gives way to the low rolling hills of the Piedmont and rises up to the rugged mountain on the Appalachian Plateau. These diverse habitats contribute to Maryland’s impressive flora that includes over 50 orchid species.

Lost Orchids of Maryland

In December of 2016, Maryland revised their list of rare, threatened, and endangered plants. Many of the 33 orchids that appear on the list are in trouble, but nine orchids seem to have completely disappeared. Considered extirpated, could these orchids just be lost, waiting to be found?

Isotria medeoloides

Extirpated

Botanist Edgar Wherry followed a population of the federally threatened Small Whorled Pogonia near his home in the Maryland suburbs of Washington D.C. and added this note to herbarium specimens collected in 1928:
“That year I counted 75 plants, the next year- 5 or 6, and although I returned at the right time for the next 10 years -- not a single one ever showed up again. And now real estate has taken over.”

Photo © Gary Van Velsir

Cypripedium reginae

Extirpated

The Showy Lady’s Slipper is listed as threatened or endangered in many northeastern states where it still exists. Historical records indicate this orchid once grew in western Maryland but has not been seen since 2000.

Photo © Gary Van Velsir

Neottia cordata

Extirpated

The Heart Leaf Twayblade was collected in the mountainous region of western Maryland in the early 1930s but has not been seen for decades.

Photo © Gary Van Velsir

Arethusa bulbosa

Extirpated

The Dragon’s Mouth may have been one of the earliest orchids collected in Maryland. Records in the British Museum of Natural History date collections to the early 1700s although this bog orchid has not been seen in Maryland since 1918.

Photo © Gary Van Velsir

Goodyera

In colonial times, Maryland boasted three of the four species of Goodyera found in North America. Today, only the Downy Rattlesnake (center) is secure, growing across the Coastal Plain to the mountainous region. The Dwarf Rattlesnake (right) was last collected on the Appalachian Plateau in 1904, and the Checkered Rattlesnake (left) hasn’t been seen on the Piedmont since 1942.

Photo © Gary Van Velsir

Cleistesiopsis divaricata

Endangered

Some orchids have been rediscovered. After an absence of over 20 years, the endangered Spreading Pogonia was sighted on Maryland’s Eastern Shore in 2003.

Photo © Gary Van Velsir

Dactylorhiza viridis

Endangered

The Long Bracted Orchid was rediscovered in western Maryland after 40 years although it continues to be threatened by intensive deer browsing.

Photo © Gary Van Velsir

Triphora trianthophoros

Endangered

Not seen for over 50 years and believed extirpated, a significant population of the Three Birds Orchid is thriving on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

Photo © Gary Van Velsir

Calopogon tuberosus

Endangered

Growing in seeps and wet meadows across the Coastal Plain, the Tuberous Grass Pink is threatened by loss of habitat from woody plant succession.

Photo © Gary Van Velsir

Neottia smallii

Endangered

The Kidney Leaf Twayblade is endemic to the Appalachian Mountain region from Georgia to Pennsylvania and is considered endangered in Maryland where populations are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation.

Platanthera peramoena

Threatened

Small populations of the state-threatened Purple Fringeless Orchid occur across Maryland, but this orchid seems to have been in trouble since it was first collected in 1878.

Spiranthes ochroleuca

Endangered

The Yellow Ladies’ Tresses prefers open habitat such as shale barrens and grassy meadows and is threatened by natural succession and the invasion of non-native plants such as honeysuckle.

Platanthera shriveri

Under Review

Field observations and examination of herbarium records indicate the recently described Shriver’s Frilly Orchid is endemic to the Appalachian region with a historical range from North Carolina to Pennsylvania. This orchid has now been reported in western Maryland, and its conservation status is under review.

Cypripedium candidum

Endangered

The extremely rare Small White Lady’s Slipper has been declining throughout its range for the last 100 years. A single population was discovered on a steep cliff side in western Maryland in 1988.

GARY VAN VELSIR, MATHEMATICS PROFESSOR

Photo ©Wayne Longbottom

Maryland is one of the original 13 colonies with a landscape that stretches across three main physiographic provinces. Barrier islands and cypress swamps on the Coastal Plain give way to the low rolling hills of the fertile Piedmont then rise up to the rugged mountains on the Appalachian Plateau with hemlock forests, mountain bogs, and narrow stream valleys surrounded by steep ridges. These diverse habitats contribute to Maryland’s impressive flora that includes over 50 orchid species with observations that go back to the 1600s.

This month we’ve asked photographer Gary Van Velsir to remind us of those orchids which now appear on the list of Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Plants updated by the Maryland Natural Heritage Program. Many of these plants are in trouble, including nine orchids that seem to have completely disappeared. Considered extirpated (locally extinct), could these orchids just be lost, waiting to be found?

Programs such as the Maryland Biodiversity Project (MBP) may be the first step towards rediscovering our lost orchids. This community of citizen scientists are the “boots on the ground” exploring remote areas as they photograph and catalog all living things found in the region. Perhaps they’ll stumble on one of our lost orchids, or discover something new.

MBP has compiled a checklist to learn more about Maryland’s orchids. Visit the Go Orchids website to discover what orchids grow in your area and which ones are at risk.

Gary, retired from a 30 year career as a mathematics professor at Anne Arundel Community College, MD, participates in the local speakers’ bureau using photographs from his extensive travels to illustrate natural history presentations that include not just orchids but other wildflowers and birds. He is an active member of the Native Orchid Conference and served on its Board of Directors. Currently, Gary and his wife Pam only spend part of their time in Maryland. They prefer winter on the West Coast, enjoying the desert wildflowers, hiking, and tennis in Southern California. Gary has a long association with NAOCC and was the first photographer to contribute images to the Go Orchids website.

Featured — Lost Orchids of Maryland

Maryland

Lost Orchids of Maryland

Isotria medeoloides

Extirpated

Cypripedium reginae

Extirpated

Neottia cordata

Extirpated

Arethusa bulbosa

Extirpated

Goodyera

Cleistesiopsis divaricata

Endangered

Dactylorhiza viridis

Endangered

Triphora trianthophoros

Endangered

Calopogon tuberosus

Endangered

Neottia smallii

Endangered

Platanthera peramoena

Threatened

Spiranthes ochroleuca

Endangered

Platanthera shriveri

Under Review

Cypripedium candidum

Endangered

GARY VAN VELSIR, MATHEMATICS PROFESSOR

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