My original intent in writing about our native (all terrestrial) orchids was not nearly as scholarly as the title suggests. In February, when the temperature began to inch toward 90 degrees, I figured that at that rate, by summer the desert would be intolerable. The words "high country" flashed through my mind. A visit to the Grand Canyon in July or August would provide relief from the heat, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who has "done the Canyon" to death. There would have to be a purpose for yet another trip. A field trip to hunt our native orchids was the perfect reason. My search for information about the orchids and for an experienced guide was like a treasure hunt. It led me in many directions: to the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum, the Desert Botanical Garden, the Arizona Native Plant Society, the ASU Herbarium, Arizona Highways Magazine, free-lance writer Catrien Ross Laetz, and finally to Tim Reeves, a teacher at Navajo Community College. Tim and his wife, Linda, have photographed all of the orchid species and will publish a book on them. He reports that some of the species have not been seen or photographed for 50 years! Publication date of the book is not known because at this point, the text has not been written. Tim also reported that he has led field trips in the 1970's with the OSA. And for our veteran members, you may remember that Linda (Mankel) Reeves is a past president of the OSA (1978 and 1979). Tim is amenable to serving in future as a guide for an OSA field trip, but this summer he will be doing graduate work out of state. Meanwhile, for brave souls who wish to wander alone to the high country, the following guide may prove helpful.

The largest and showiest of the genera are the Cypripedium and the Calypso.

 

GENUS	SPECIES	LOCATION	BLOOM TIME
1. Cypripedium (Lady's Slipper)	calceolus v. pubescens	White Mountains in moist soil, probably in shade	June-July
2. Habenaria (Bog orchid)	limosa	mountains of Cochise and Pima counties, 7000-8000 feet, moist woods and cool, springy places	June-Sept.
	saccata	Lukachukai Mountains (Apache County), White Mountains (Apache or Greenlee), Pinaleno Mts. (Graham County) 8500-9500 feet	July-Sept.
	hyperborea	Lukachukai & White Mts., 7500-9500 feet in moist woods	July-August
	sparsiflora	Apache, Navajo, Coconino, & Graham counties	June-Oct.

(H. sparsiflora var. laxiflora, a small-flowered variant, occurs on the Navajo Indian Reservation and in the Grand Canyon - 4500-7500 feet)

 

3. Epipactis (Helleborine)	gigantea	Navajo, Coconino, & northeastern Mojave counties to Cochise & Pima, 3000-8000 feet in moist soil	April-July
4. Spiranthes (Lady's Tresses)	parasitica	Santa Catalina Mts., Pima county,8000-8500 feet	June-July
	romanzoffiana	Kaibab Plateau & North Rim of Grand Canyon, White Mts., 8500-9500 feet, in bogs & wet meadows	August-Sept.
	michuacana	Huachuca, Cochise, Santa Catalina Mts., 7000 feet rocky canyons & slopes	Sept-Oct.
5. Listera (Tway-blade)	convallarioides	Santa Catalina Mts., 8000 feet	July-Sept.
6. Goodyera (Rattlesnake-plantain)	repens	White Mts., 9500-10,000 feet	July-Sept.
	oblongifolio	Lukachukai & White Mts., Kaibab Plateau, Elden Mt. & Bill Williams Mt. (Coconino county), Pinaleno Mts., 8000-9500 feet	July-Sept.
7. Corallorhiza (Coral-root)	striata	Pinaleno Mts., Pinal Mts. & Sierra Ancha (Gila county), Chiricahua Mts. (Cochise county), Santa Catalina Mts., 7000-9000 feet, in deep shade of pine & spruce forests	July
	maculata	Lukachukai & White Mts., North Rim of Grand Canyon & San Francisco Peaks, South to the Pinalena Mts. & Santa Catalina Mts., 6000-10,000 feet in coniferous forests	June-July
	wisteriana	North Rim of Grand Canyon & San Francisco Peaks, Sierra Ancha & Pinal Mts. (Gila county), Santa Catalina Mts., 6000-8000 feet	May
8. Malaxis (Adders-mouth)	corymbosa	Chiricahua & Huachuca Mts., Santa Catalina Mts. 6500-7500 feet	August
	soulei	White Mts., Mogollon Escarpment (Coconino county), Pinaleno Mts., & common in mts. of Cochise, Santa Cruz, & Pima counties, 6000-9500 feet, pine woods	July-Sept.
	tenuis	Santa Catalina Mts., 7000 feet	August
	ehrenbergii	Huachuca & Santa Catalina Mts., 7500 feet, moist, mossy places	August
9. Calypso (Fairy Slipper)	bulbosa	North Rim of Grand Canyon & San Francisco Peaks, White Mts., 8500-10,000 feet, spruce & fir forests	June-August
10. Hexalectris (Crested Coral-root)	warnockii	Chiricahua National Monument, Cochise county	June-July
	spicata	Santa Rita Mts., Santa Cruz or Pima county, rich soil in woods & among rocks	June-July
	grandiflora	Southern Arizona	June-July

Source: ARIZONA FLORA, by Kearney and Peebles, pages 197-203

For pictures of four of the species, see Arizona Highways, August, 1986, pages 23-29. The article, "Orchids of the Sky Island", by Catrien Ross Laetz, includes photographs of: Spiranthes romanzoffiana, Habenaria sparsiflora, Goodyera oblongifolia, and Malaxis soulei. This issue is in our OSA library.

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