Hi All,
This will be a two part post. Next weekend, I will add the Southern Oregon stuff.

I directed to a site in Washington an hour away from the Portland area to find some Cyps. I couldn't wait until spring to see them :) I've found that the two most common co-inhabitants of Cypripedium fasciculatum are mosquitos in thick clouds and poison oak in thick groves. :?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/nankeen/PoisonOak.jpg

Oh well, it's worth it. :D
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/nankeen/Cypfasciculatum06.jpg

I found 3 clumps, and one loner plant. All three clumps are visible in this photo: the obvious one, the second is in the background directly below the big tree in the middle, and the third is already browned and hiding in the oak leaves between the two greenish clumps.

The three clumps were 10 stems, 10 stems and 20 stems. 41 stems is the most I've ever seen of this plant, though I'll be looking for 500 plants next spring! :rolleyes:

You can still make out the details of the faded flower.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/nankeen/Cypfasciculatumcapsule.jpg

Unfortunately for me, all the seed had already dehisced! I will have to see next weekend if the capsules have opened already in Southern Oregon.

I also found a lone Cyp montanum, already dormant:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/nankeen/Cypmontanum-1.jpg

Non-slipper: Corallorhiza trifida? I think. It would be a first for me.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/nankeen/Corallorhiza05.jpg

To be continued.

Best,
Ross

Very interesting and nice photos.:cool: Thanks for posting!

Wow...COOL pics...thnx

Thanks for the lesson!

so pretty photo i like.ty

Nice shots James!
Will be waiting for your "500 plants next spring"!
Thanks

Will be waiting for your "500 plants next spring"!

Me too! I read and article that said that there are about 500 plants at one location I know of down there... I will check next weekend! I was surprised to hear this because a cursory glance indicated that there were no more than 20 plants there last time. I will have to search a little... again with the poison oak. Always with the poison oak!... Soooo many acres, so little time and so few eyes. Anyone want to come camping next weekend? Ron? Tom? Paul? :roll:

Best,
Ross

Me too! I read and article that said that there are about 500 plants at one location I know of down there... I will check next weekend! I was surprised to hear this because a cursory glance indicated that there were no more than 20 plants there last time. I will have to search a little... again with the poison oak. Always with the poison oak!... Soooo many acres, so little time and so few eyes. Anyone want to come camping next weekend? Ron? Tom? Paul? :roll:

Best,
Ross

I'd love to join you Ross, but the trip is a little far for me! Still, I've never seen any of the west coast Cyps in the wild before...

Nice shots James!
Will be waiting for your "500 plants next spring"!
Thanks

:oops: :embarass: :embarass: :embarass:

My mistake! Assumed it was James!!?? Sorry Ross! Next time I'll look before I post!

Wow beautiful area ! I would be SO excited to see a cyp in the wild at any stage. Very interesting!

Me too! Soooo many acres, so little time and so few eyes. Anyone want to come camping next weekend? Ron? Tom? Paul? :roll:

Best,
Ross


I would love to but cant now. Ask me next spring during blooming season and I'll be there the next day!

Ron

I would love to but cant now. Ask me next spring during blooming season and I'll be there the next day!

Ron

I'm going Memorial Day Weekend, rain or shine. Book your flight soon :)

I'm going Memorial Day Weekend, rain or shine. Book your flight soon :)

I'll be there with golashes, raincoat, gps, and camera!

Ron

Hi All,
The second of our semi-annual trips to S OR was lovely. A bit warm (100F), but lovely... HOW SOON IS FALL!?

For us folk that have lived near a city for the past 7 yrs, the chance to see stars is one we don't pass up. Photos will never do them justice... I forgot how many bloody stars there were! When it got really dark, the Milky Way was so bright, it was almost as if we were looking at a whole Galaxy! The sky was easily three times as black as it is here in Gresham ;-)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/nankeen/Stars04.jpg

Well, on to the plants. Here is a Cyp fasciculatum seedling in in May.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/nankeen/Cypfasciculatum04.jpg

And here is the same plant 08-26.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/nankeen/Cypripediumfasciculatumseedling.jpg

Told you guys it would get trampled... All of the Cyp fasciculatum plants looked about like the ones from WA do, execpt smaller. Most are single stem plants at the sites that I know. All of the seed capsules for this species I saw were dried and open as above, but since I saw so many plants I was able to scrounge up a few seeds here and there that were left stuck inside the capsules.

Here is Cyp californicum in May.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/nankeen/CypcalBridge1.jpg

And here is the same plant 08-27.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/nankeen/CypripediumcalifornicumBridge.jpg

The seedlings still looked perfect.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/nankeen/Cypripediumcalifornicumseedlings.jpg

The Cyp californicum were dehiscing their capsules presently, so it was prime time to get some seed. I'm hoping that partly through these efforts, Cyp californicum can become more cultivated and thus help stop the need for digging of the wild plants which has been a problem in the area, I've heard. So, everybody who's getting some seed, get busy! ;-)

This species grows just like Darlingtonia: Cold wet roots, *almost* full sun, hot dry summer days, mild wet winters (with some snow). Possibly Semi hydro would be the best way to grow them...

This plant, which I thought was Cyp californicum...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/nankeen/CypcalRiver.jpg

Did turn out to be Epipactis gigantea:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/nankeen/Epipactisgigantea.jpg

Here is a Cyp californicum capsule to compare.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/nankeen/Cypripediumcalifornicum01.jpg

A purplish castelleja.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/nankeen/03d0eba4.jpg

Here's a picture of a Cyp habitat. There are only a few Cyps in this mess, all at the edges.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/nankeen/Darlingtonia04.jpg

A 1in tall Darlingtonia: a perfect miniature.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/nankeen/Darlingtonia06.jpg

They have really nice colors in the fall.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/nankeen/Darlingtonia02.jpg

Well, only... 8 months until more photos... oi. Cyp fasciculatum May 1, 2007: Stay tuned.

Best,
Ross

Great shots Ross!
Thanks for the info.

Here's a picture of a Cyp habitat. There are only a few Cyps in this mess, all at the edges.
Well, only... 8 months until more photos... oi. Cyp fasciculatum May 1, 2007: Stay tuned.


But well worth the wait!

Ron Burch

Great shots Ross! I'm glad you had a good trip. Ah, stars...I intellectually realize they are still out there somewhere, but seeing any is an unlikely thing for me these days.

It sounds like C. californicum is going to remain a difficult plant to grow for most folks given its strange niche. I think you are right about using semihydro to grow them. How did your little seedling fair this year? C. fasciculatum is another little weirdo! Interesting it goes down so fast, even before September.

One last thing: have you considered creating a blog of your experiences? Your posts on this and other forums are perfect blog material, and setting one up isn't that difficult. Just a thought.

Thanks for the shots!

Tom

Very nice photos, thanks for sharing!

Yes, thanks for sharing. I love the photo of Cyp. californicum!

Beautiful shots! Thanks for sharing!:cool:

...It sounds like C. californicum is going to remain a difficult plant to grow for most folks given its strange niche. I think you are right about using semihydro to grow them. How did your little seedling fair this year?...

One last thing: have you considered creating a blog of your experiences?


Hi Tom,
Hopefully we'll figure out californicum after a while, at least for those of us in cooler climates.

My single little californicum that I had last year is doing ok. I think that the ice-watering method was just too cold for him. I lost several growths last fall when they started elongating in November and the plant is slightly messed up this year, but it seems to be forming buds normally now. I'll let you know next spring :-)

I hadn't thought about making a blog. I guess I could, but what would be the reason?

Best,
Ross

so pretty phots.ty

Awesome pics...thnx

Hi Again,
A week after I visited S OR, I visited Mt Hood again. Here are some pics.

Cyp montanum, going dormant.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/nankeen/Cypmontanum-2.jpg

A spent flower, and dehisced capsule.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/nankeen/Cypmontanumcapsule.jpg

I hope no one will yell at me if I post two more non-slipper orchid pictures :D

Very uncommon Sprianthes porrifolia.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/nankeen/Spiranthesporrifolia.jpg

A "brighten your day" sort of picture: a field of flowers.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/nankeen/Daisy02.jpg

Best,
Ross

Nice photos and I love the capsule/spent Cyp flower photo :cool: . Thanks!

Nice shots. Thanks, Ross.

so pretty fotos.ty

Awesome pics...:cool: Thnx

Gorgeous photos! Everything looks so sleepy, then there's that gorgeous yellow bloom. Nice!

The big rest is coming. I agree the spent flower and capsule is a great shot. Now for winter...

That spent flower and capsule is very, very cool! I have never seen much more than a nub of flower on a capsule!

Thx for posting!

Ron Burch