Thursday, May 11, 2006
Back From The Brink (In Two Parts)
Orchis (now Galearis) spectabilis, the showy orchis, is a lovely woodland orchid, native to much of the eastern U.S., but threatened everywhere. It has two waxy green leaves, and a short stem with half a dozen or so lovely flowers, which smell of violets. The flowers have a pink hood, with a white lip. In our woods, it was rapidly disappearing, due to the combined pressure from deer and garlic mustard. One acre of the woods has been fenced off for our garden, and I've cleared this part of the woods of tens of thousands of garlic mustard plants. Now the showy orchis is popping up everywhere... back from the brink! 
// posted by IBOY @ 10:16 AM 
