A Wild, Weedy, and Intoxicating Orchid, Part 2
The Broad-Leaved Helleborine is indeed a wild, weedy, and intoxicating orchid. It’s an invasive species in North America, with nectar that drugs its insect pollinators. On the coast, just south of San Francisco, the plants near us grow in a tough botanical neighborhood. Their small patch of woods on a steep hillside is full of invasive species, such as ivy, Pampas Grass, and ice plant. Probably the most common native is Poison Oak. Local deer and other herbivores eat much of the greenery. After two years of bad drought, the forest is dry. Fortunately, since these pictures were taken, we’ve had rain, but these orchids grew with very little rainfall. Instead, they must have relied on fog dripping from the tall conifers above them.
When these photos were shot in late summer and early fall, there were over a dozen plants in different stages of growth. Some had maturing seedpods, others were in full bloom, while a few more were just starting to send up young flower buds. The mature plants were about waist high, with blooms less than 3/4 inch (1.9 cm) wide. Without fail, every flower formed a seedpod. While this is partly due to that intoxicating nectar, it’s also a trait of self-pollinating plants. Undoubtedly, reliable masses of tiny, windblown seeds help this orchid to conquer new areas.
This final photo in this post wasn’t taken in Pacifica, but in San Mateo County Memorial Park, about 40 miles (64 km) south of here, and further inland. In early October, growing under enormous Coastal Redwoods, the Broad-Leaved Helleborines had all finished flowering, and sported maturing seedpods. While it was exciting to see orchids growing wild, it was also sad to see these invasives, but no native species. Still, under the shadows of giant trees, they seemed very much at home.
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