{"id":46840,"date":"2024-09-15T19:45:16","date_gmt":"2024-09-16T03:45:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/?p=46840"},"modified":"2024-09-22T10:32:58","modified_gmt":"2024-09-22T18:32:58","slug":"a-wood-rein-orchid-popped-up-in-pacifica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/15\/a-wood-rein-orchid-popped-up-in-pacifica\/","title":{"rendered":"A Wood Rein Orchid Popped up in Pacifica"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_2_1000px.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-46846 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_2_1000px-96x128.jpg\" alt=\"Platanthera elegans flowers, Wood Rein Orchid, Elegant Piperia, Many Flowered Piperia, Coast Piperia, orchid species, native California orchid, close-up of small white and green flowers, growing wild in Pacifica, California\" width=\"96\" height=\"128\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_2_1000px-96x128.jpg 96w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_2_1000px-225x300.jpg 225w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_2_1000px.jpg 750w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 96px) 100vw, 96px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_1_1000px.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-46845 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_1_1000px-96x128.jpg\" alt=\"Platanthera elegans flowers, Wood Rein Orchid, Elegant Piperia, Many Flowered Piperia, Coast Piperia, orchid species, native California orchid, close-up of small white and green flowers, growing wild in Pacifica, California\" width=\"96\" height=\"128\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_1_1000px-96x128.jpg 96w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_1_1000px-225x300.jpg 225w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_1_1000px.jpg 750w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 96px) 100vw, 96px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_5_1000px.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-46849 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_5_1000px-64x128.jpg\" alt=\"Platanthera elegans, 2 flower stems with flowers and seedpods, Wood Rein Orchid, Elegant Piperia, Many Flowered Piperia, Coast Piperia, orchid species, native California orchid, growing wild in Pacifica, California\" width=\"64\" height=\"128\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_5_1000px-64x128.jpg 64w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_5_1000px-150x300.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_5_1000px.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 64px) 100vw, 64px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Until recently, the only <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/category\/orchids-in-the-wild\/\">wild orchids<\/a> I&#8217;d seen around the SF Bay Area were <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/2022\/10\/07\/weedy-orchids-in-the-wilds-of-pacifica\/\">non-native Weedy Orchids<\/a>. So it was an exciting moment earlier this month when I spotted two beautiful flower spikes by a Pacifica hiking trail. They had dense clusters of small, unusual blooms. Dave and I could both see that the tiny flowers had <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/2020\/04\/16\/lovely-orchid-lips\/\">lips<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.orchidplantcare.info\/characteristics-of-the-orchid-flower\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">columns<\/a>, and were orchids. We had found the native <a href=\"https:\/\/goorchids.northamericanorchidcenter.org\/species\/platanthera\/elegans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wood Rein Orchid, or <em>Platanthera elegans<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_8_1000px.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-46852 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_8_1000px-96x128.jpg\" alt=\"Platanthera elegans flowers, Wood Rein Orchid, Elegant Piperia, Many Flowered Piperia, Coast Piperia, orchid species, native California orchid, close-up of small white and green flowers, growing wild in Pacifica, California\" width=\"96\" height=\"128\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_8_1000px-96x128.jpg 96w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_8_1000px-225x300.jpg 225w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_8_1000px.jpg 750w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 96px) 100vw, 96px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_4_1000px.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-46848 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_4_1000px-77x128.jpg\" alt=\"Platanthera elegans, 2 flower stems with flowers and seedpods, Wood Rein Orchid, Elegant Piperia, Many Flowered Piperia, Coast Piperia, orchid species, native California orchid, growing wild in Pacifica, California\" width=\"77\" height=\"128\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_4_1000px-77x128.jpg 77w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_4_1000px-180x300.jpg 180w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_4_1000px.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 77px) 100vw, 77px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_7_1000px.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-46851 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_7_1000px-96x128.jpg\" alt=\"Platanthera elegans flowers, Wood Rein Orchid, Elegant Piperia, Many Flowered Piperia, Coast Piperia, orchid species, native California orchid, close-up of small white and green flowers with nectar spurs, growing wild in Pacifica, California\" width=\"96\" height=\"128\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_7_1000px-96x128.jpg 96w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_7_1000px-225x300.jpg 225w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_7_1000px.jpg 750w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 96px) 100vw, 96px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Wood Rein Orchid is also known as the Elegant Piperia, or the Many Flowered Piperia. It lives along the West Coast of the USA and Canada, from California to British Columbia. The blooms we saw were white and green with nectar spurs. Other flowers were dried, still attached to swelling seedpods. The plant was growing at the base of a Eucalyptus tree, but didn&#8217;t have any leaves when we saw it. That&#8217;s not surprising in our Mediterranean climate with rainless summers. At this time of year, the area solely receives moisture from fog-drip.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_3_1000px.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-46847 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_3_1000px-77x128.jpg\" alt=\"Platanthera elegans flowers, Wood Rein Orchid, Elegant Piperia, Many Flowered Piperia, Coast Piperia, orchid species, native California orchid, small white and green flowers with nectar spurs, growing wild in Pacifica, California\" width=\"77\" height=\"128\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_3_1000px-77x128.jpg 77w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_3_1000px-180x300.jpg 180w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_3_1000px.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 77px) 100vw, 77px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_9_1000px.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-46853 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_9_1000px-72x128.jpg\" alt=\"Platanthera elegans flowers and seedpods, Wood Rein Orchid, Elegant Piperia, Many Flowered Piperia, Coast Piperia, orchid species, native California orchid, close-up of seedpods and flowers, growing wild in Pacifica, California\" width=\"72\" height=\"128\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_9_1000px-72x128.jpg 72w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_9_1000px-169x300.jpg 169w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_9_1000px.jpg 563w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 72px) 100vw, 72px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_6_1000px.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-46850 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_6_1000px-77x128.jpg\" alt=\"Platanthera elegans, 2 flower stems with flowers and seedpods emerging from the ground, Wood Rein Orchid, Elegant Piperia, Many Flowered Piperia, Coast Piperia, orchid species, native California orchid, growing wild in Pacifica, California\" width=\"77\" height=\"128\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_6_1000px-77x128.jpg 77w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_6_1000px-180x300.jpg 180w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Platanthera_elegans_6_1000px.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 77px) 100vw, 77px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Both of us were thrilled to see our first local, native orchid. While this species is not endangered, all are threatened by climate change, habitat destruction, and sometimes, being loved to death. Please remember to never take orchids from the wild. It\u2019s illegal, and the plants will die from the stress. Take only photos and memories. Don\u2019t damage them, pluck their flowers, or disturb them in any way. Be careful not to trample them or surrounding plants. Leave them to thrill future generations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Until recently, the only wild orchids I&#8217;d seen around the SF Bay Area were non-native Weedy Orchids. So it was an exciting moment earlier this month when I spotted two beautiful flower spikes by a Pacifica hiking trail. They had dense clusters of small, unusual blooms. Dave and I could both see that the tiny [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,10,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cool-growers","category-orchids-in-the-wild","category-photos"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46840"}],"version-history":[{"count":50,"href":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46840\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46900,"href":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46840\/revisions\/46900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}