By Tom Shields Photos by Kevin Tipson and Henry Glowka unless otherwise indicated jewels of the Biosphere res

The is justly famous as a uNESCo World Biosphere Reserve, one of Canada’s first. In Southern , its tower - ing dolostone cliffs, formed in ancient seas more than 420 million years ago, rise dramatically along a jagged line that stretches 725 kilo - metres from the to the tip of Tobermory. From these heights the Escarpment tilts down gently to the west. Rainfall and ground water seep gradually through its porous rocks, creating swamps, fens, bogs, marshes, valleys, caves, and microcli - mates across the meandering band that follows its length.

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WWW.BRuCETRAIL.oRG BRuCE TRAIL MAGAzINE 29 Nowhere are these features more promi - LADY’S SLIPPERS (CYPRIPEDIUM) nent than in the , Easiest to find and most familiar of our enrobed on either side by distinguishing orchids orchids are the lady’s slippers, so named and . Here, jewel-like mem - All orchids have a highly modified, due to the fancied resemblance of their bers of one of the Escarpment’s other pouched lip to an old-fashioned slipper lavish petal called the lip. usually it claims to fame grow with an abundance or moccasin. The flowers are often large is held at the bottom of the flower, and diversity thought unequalled else - and showy. Four of the nine species but sometimes at the top. It both where in any similarly sized area of found in occur along the North America north of Mexico. They attracts pollinators and serves as a Trail. Caution! The large yellow and are our native orchids, and they annual - landing pad for them. showy lady’s slippers may cause serious ly draw people from all over the world rashes if handled. in a quest to discover and photograph their exquisite and uncommon beauty. eral species found on the Escarpment are LargeyellowLady’s Some 44 of the 65 orchids that call now considered rare, threatened, or Slipper (Cypripedium parviflorum var. Ontario home can be found on the endangered, making their habitat preser - pubescens) Escarpment. Although several can also vation critical. be found elsewhere along the Bruce Trail n a

and at other locations in Ontario, they m o C

never occur in such numbers or variety g e r G

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as on the Bruce Peninsula. Its 45 ⁰ north o t o h latitude and the climate moderating P

effects of its surrounding waters, plus the a k w

porous, calcium-rich Escarpment rock o l G

y and the cooling effects of its slow sub - r n e H surface drainage, are all thought to be : o t o h

factors behind this remarkable fecundity. P Also at play is the fact that the Peninsula and other locations along the yellow lady’s slippers Bruce Trail offer pristine, unaltered habi - There are two varieties of this orchid: the tats that today serve as refuges for Large Yellow Lady’s Slipper and the orchids - considered the most evolved of Northern Small Yellow Lady’s Slipper. The Large Yellow grows to 55 cm and

a k

w has larger, lighter flowers than the o l G

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r Northern Small Yellow, which has dark n e H

: purple petals and sepals and rarely grows o t o

h taller than 30 cm. The Large Yellow has P Pristine mixed forest habitat a slight rose scent, whereas the Northern along the Bruce Trail Small Yellow smells of spice and vanilla. Both are common and grow in a variety DISCOVERING OUR ORCHIDS of habitats, including mixed forests, So how do you discover these delicate grasslands, and bogs. Look for them jewels, with their harmonious interplays from late May to early July. of design and colour? Different orchids

a k

prefer different environments and flower w o l G

at different times, so it is wise to do a bit y r n e H

of research before you set out. Some pre - : o t o

fer dry uplands on neutral or alkaline h P soils, while others favour wooded areas Showy Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium reginae) on acid soils and still others wetlands in habitat that will have you breaking out your Wellingtons. Some are quite showy and all flowering families. As such, some sweetly fragrant, some large and orchids often have highly specialized some small, but all – even the smallest – needs and occupy ecological niches that are fascinating and intriguing to the many other living things cannot. The point of wonder. Below are details on widespread destruction of such habitats several of the better known orchids that elsewhere as the result of agricultural you can find on the Niagara Escarpment. and urban development has added For more information on these and Northern Small yellow immensely to the thinning numbers and other native orchids, see the bibliogra - Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium parviflorum var. makasin) increasing rarity of orchids. Indeed, sev - phy on page 34.

30 BRuCE TRAIL MAGAzINE SPRING 201 4 Showy Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium reginae) or in small groups in forests or dunes on calcium-rich, moist soils. Search for it on the Peninsula east of Highway 6 between orchid etiquette mid-May to mid-June. Avoid stepping near or touching reIn orchIds (PlAtAntherA) orchids. Most have shallow, The largest group of orchids in North extensive, sensitive root systems America, the rein orchids are so called and delicate flowers and stems because the lip of several species is that are easily damaged. It’s thus backed by a nectar-containing spur that best to search for them in small

d

n fancifully resembles a horse’s rein. Often

a groups. l c A the lip is three-lobed, and sometimes e c n e r strikingly fringed. Some 11 species find u a L

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o homes on or around the Trail, three of t o h

P which we cover here. showy (Queen) lady’s slipper Ram’s Head Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium arietinum) This spectacular orchid, Canada’s largest, bears one or two massive white, fragrant flowers with pinkish slippers on a stem that can rise to 90 cm. It prefers to grow in colonies on the margins of balsam- cedar swamps in muck soils and along wet beaches. It is fairly common along the Trail and normally flowers from mid- June to late July.

Pink Moccasin Flower A subject of one of Tom Thomson’s

paintings, this striking orchid bears a a k w o single flower with a rich pink, heavily l G

y r

veined slipper on a stalk that grows n e H

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some 30 cm high. It prefers acidic soils o t o h under jack pines or on the edges of P coniferous swamps or bogs, where it usu - ally forms thin colonies. It is more com - tall White Bog orchid ragged Fringed orchid mon just south of the Bruce Peninsula This attractive orchid with its pure white This delicate-looking, yellowish-greenish and typically flowers in June. flowers fragrant of cloves grows to 70 white orchid is noted for its deeply cm. Look for it from mid-June to July in fringed lip and evening fragrance. Pink Moccasin Flower (Cypripedium acaule) fens and other moist, sunny habitats in the Milton- area and near Ragged Fringed orchid (Platanthera lacera) the Huron shores of the Bruce and at its northern tip. It is not common along the Trail, but sometimes grows with the related Tall Northern Green Orchid, another rein orchid.

Tall White Bog orchid (Platanthera dilatata) n o s n p i o s T

p i n i T

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: o o h t P o h P ram’s head lady’s slipper Although it can rise to 80 cm, its muted Our rarest, most unusual, and smallest colours may make it tricky to find. It lady’s slipper seldom rises more than 20 blooms from late June through July on cm. Its dime-sized slipper is cone-shaped, moist, acid soils, particularly sphagnum white and hairy on its upper, open sur - bogs, fens, and swamps. The Halton n o face, and reddish-purple as it tapers s Hills-Caledon area is probably the best p i T

n below. This orchid typically grows alone i place to find it. v e K

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WWW.BRuCETRAIL.oRG P BRuCE TRAIL MAGAzINE 31 small Purple Fringed orchid striped coralroot With its 30 or more fringed, lilac-purple Backlit by the sun, this largest of the flowers open on a stem that can top 70 Photographing orchids coralroots with its boldly striped flowers cm, this is an exceptionally beautiful Set packs down carefully away from and their ruby lips has indeed been com - orchid. Look for it in wet areas, moist pared to a jewel. Typically it grows in the orchids you wish to photograph. meadows and ditches, the edges of clumps, rarely exceeding 40 cm in use a long focus lens, with the camera swamps, and mucky banks along much height, in dry, open cedar and deciduous set on a tripod away from the plant. If of the Trail from late June through July. woods. It is locally common over much It often forms colonies, and there is a needed, gently tie back surrounding of the Trail from the Milton area north rare white form. vegetation, but don’t remove it. to Tobermory, flowering from late May through June. Small Purple Fringed orchid (Platanthera psycodes)

a k w

at their base and sometimes look like o l G

y

they are nodding. It is most common r n e H

along the central portion of the : o t o h

Escarpment and the Niagara area. P

hooded ladies’ tresses The white to cream coloured sepals and petals of this orchid form a hood over its lip. Flowers may number 15–50 on a stem around 30 cm tall. It grows in colonies with grasses and horsetails in sunny locales that are usually wet part of the year. It is most common from the

n Blue Mountains area north to o s p i T

Tobermory, and flowers from late July n i v e

K through late August.

: o t o h P Hooded Ladies’ Tresses (Spiranthes romanzoffiana)

LADIES’ TRESSES (SPIRANTHES) Striped Coralroot (Corallorhiza striata) These small have miniature, white, fragrant flowers that spiral around the stem, giving the fancied appearance ONE-OF-A-KIND ORCHIDS of braided hair, or tresses. As if to make The orchids in this category are either up for their size, these orchids often the only one of their type or have only grow in colonies and flower after other one representative species in our area. orchids have finished. They can be hard They include some of our most spectacu - to tell apart. Six species are known on lar orchids. the Escarpment, of which we cover two. Fairy slipper (calypso) n o nodding ladies’ tresses s p Many consider this our most stunning i T

n i

This orchid grows around 30 cm high in v orchid, what with its pink petals and e K

: moist, slightly acid areas like meadows, o sepals raised over a veined white and t o h pastures, fens, shores, and ditches, and P purple slipper sporting a yellow-haired can form large colonies. Its 15-30 flowers crest. It is elusive, growing no higher often sport a yellowish or greenish spot CORALROOTS (CORALLORHIZA) than 15 cm in the shade of cedars, These orchids are unusual in that they spruces, and firs on calcium-rich soils. Nodding Ladies’ Tresses (Spiranthes cernua) almost entirely lack chlorophyll and Search for it along the northernmost leaves and thus cannot make their own part of the Bruce Peninsula from mid- food. Instead they live underground May through June. with their coral-like roots tapped into the food supplied by fungi to tree roots. Grass Pink (calopogon) We only see them when they put up Unlike many other orchids the grass stems to bloom. Below are details on the pink holds its yellow-haired crested lip most colourful of the four species found uppermost, and its deep pink sepals and n o s petals below. This exquisite orchid grows

p along the Bruce Trail, the Striped i T

n i to 50 cm in sunny fens, sphagnum-

v Coralroot. e K

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32 BRuCE TRAIL MAGAzINE P SPRING 201 4 easy to see the dragon’s mouth compari - Fairy Slipper (Calypso bulbosa) son. This spectacular orchid likes sphag - num bogs and fens, so prepare to get wet let them Be to find it between mid-June to mid-July. Many of our orchids take 10–16 years Seldom exceeding 25 cm in height, it is to reach flowering size. Picking or dig - relatively rare around the Trail but can ging them up is illegal, prevents them be found in the – Blue Mountain area. from reproducing, and almost always kills the plant. Never reveal site loca - rose Pogonia (Pogonia) tions to people whose commitment This uncommon beauty usually grows to conservation is in doubt. no higher than 30 cm and smells of y p s

e raspberries to most. The short-lived flow - h l i G THERE’S MORE

h ers vary from pale pink to nearly purple, t e B

: with a strongly fringed lip that sports Other orchids that you may find at o t o h

P yellow or greenish bristles. Like Dragon’s places on the Niagara Escarpment along the Bruce Trail include the Showy Rose Pogonia (Pogonia ophioglossoides) Orchis, Putty Root, Long Bracted Green Grass Pink (Calapogon tuberosus) Orchid, Alaska Orchid, the Rattlesnake Plantains, the Adder’s Mouths, the Twayblades, and lastly Helleborine, a non-native but now very common orchid originally from Europe. These orchids may not always be as large or their flowers as showy as those presented n

o above, but they are nevertheless remark - s p i T able and well worth discovering. n i v e K

: o t o h P Showy orchis (Galearis spectabilis)

a

k Mouth, it likes fens and bogs. Look for it w o l

G from late June to early August along the

y r n

e Trail in the Beaver Valley and along the H

: o t Peninsula’s Huron shores. o h P small round leaved orchis (Amerorchis) spruce bogs, and moist meadows, where This is an exquisite gem, what with its it can form large colonies. Its rose-like three-lobed, purple spotted, alabaster lip scent attracts bees. Find it from mid-June half shrouded by white sepals and pale through July on the Escarpment from pink petals. It is rare in southern n o s p Milton north. Ontario, preferring cool, calcium-rich i T

n i v e K

:

Small Round Leaved orchis (Amerorchis rotundifolia) o

dragon’s Mouth or swamp Pink (Arethusa) t o h With its mauve sepals and petals held P like a menacing crest over its gaping pink, white, and yellow-haired lip, it’s Heart-leafed Twayblade (Listeria cordata)

Dragon’s Mouth (Arethusa bulbosa) n o s p i T

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coniferous bogs, swamps, and fens to the

a k n north. It occurs on the Peninsula and w o s o l p i G T

flowers from June to early July on a stem y n r i n v e e H K typically no more than 20 cm high,

: : o o t t o o h h often bearing 4–12 flowers. P P

WWW.BRuCETRAIL.oRG BRuCE TRAIL MAGAzINE 33 JEwELS OF THE BIOSPHERE RESERVE – BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR FURTHER READING Orchids in the Care of the Bruce Trail Conservancy Orchids of Ontario Whiting, R. Emerson. and Catling, Paul M., The CanaColl Several common species of orchids it thrives in almost any environment. Foundation, Ottawa, 1986 thrive on BTC properties, readily Of the 37 species of orchids grow - A Guide to the Orchids of Bruce and Grey found amongst the carpet of wild - ing on the Niagara Escarpment, 19 Counties, Ontario Bruce Grey Plant flowers that cloak the Bruce Trail in have been identified on lands protect - Committee, , 1999 reprint the spring and summer months. The ed by the BTC. While hiking the common Menzies Rattlesnake Bruce Trail you may be fortunate Orchids of the Western Region, Plantain (Goodyera oblongifolia) , Long enough to spy one of these beauties. revised edition Case, Frederick Jr., Bracted Green Orchid ( Please enjoy your sighting from the Cranbrook Institute of Science Bulletin 48, viride) and Northern Green Orchid safety of the Bruce Trail treadway, so Bloomfield Hills, , 1987 (Platanthera aquilonis) are familiar that the sensitive habitat in which Wildflowers of Ontario Dickinson, Metsger, sights from the Beaver Valley on up these orchids and other delicate et al. Royal Ontario Museum and through the Bruce Peninsula. Large species grow is not disturbed. McClelland and Stewart, Ltd., Toronto, Yellow Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium 2004 parviflorum var. pubescens) produce orchids found on Btc properties their familiar flowers on BTC proper - 1. Small Purple Fringed Orchid Forest Plants of Central Ontario Chambers ties all the way down toward the (Platanthera psycodes) et al, Lone Pine Publishing, Edmonton, southern ends of the Toronto section. 2. Large Yellow Lady’s Slipper 1996 The delicate blooms of Loesel’s (Cypripedium parviflorum var. Twayblade ( loeselii) have been pubescens) Orchids of Manitoba: A Field Guide Ames, spied in wetter areas on BTC lands 3. Loesel’s Twayblade Acheson, Heshka, et al., Native Orchid from Niagara to Tobermory. From the (Liparis loeselii) Conservation, Inc., Winnipeg, 2005 Sydenham and Peninsula sections the 4. Tuberous Grass Pink Wild Orchids of the Canadian Maritimes and less common flowered spike of Striped (Calopogon tuberosus) Northern Brown, Paul Coralroot (Corallorhiza striata) , Early 5. Dragons Mouth Orchid Martin, University Press of Florida, Coralroot (Corallorhiza trifida) and (Arethusa bulbosa) Gainsville, Florida, 2006 Alaskan Rein Orchid (Platanthera 6. Menzies Rattlesnake Plantain unalascensis) can be spotted protrud - (Goodyera oblongifolia) Orchids of the Northeast: A Field Guide ing from the forest floor. 7. Striped Coralroot Chapman, William K., Syracuse University The less travelled and more sensitive (Corallorhiza striata) Press, Syracuse, N.Y., 1997 habitats found on BTC properties sup - 8. Alaskan Rein Orchid Wild Orchids of the Northeastern United port many species of orchids that are (Platanthera unalascensis) States Brown and Folsom, Cornell Press, less commonly seen. Rose Pogonia 9. Small Yellow Lady’s Slipper Ithaca, N.Y.,1996 (Pogonia ophioglossoides) , Tuberous (Cypripedium parviflorum var. Grass Pink (Calopogon tuberosus) and makasin) Wild Orchids Across North America Keenan, Dragons Mouth Orchid (Arethusa bul - 10. Rose Pogonia Phillip E., Timber Press, Portland, Oregon, bosa) have been observed in fen and (Pogonia ophioglossoides) 1988 bog habitat on a few BTC properties, 11. Dwarf Rattlesnake Plantain and our wetlands are home to several (Goodyera repens) Field Guide to Orchids of North America populations of Small Purple Fringed 12. Northern Green Orchid Williams, John G. and Williams, Andrew Orchid (Platanthera psycodes) and (Platanthera aquilonis) E., Universe Books, New York, 1983 Showy Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium regi - 13. Striped Coralroot Guide to Orchids of North America Petrie, nae) . on BTC properties in the (Corallorhiza striata) Dr. W., Hancock House Publishers, North Peninsula section provide ideal homes 14. Early Coralroot Vancouver, 1981 for Hooded Ladies’ Tresses (Spiranthes (Corallorhiza trifida) romanzoffiana) and Nodding Ladies’ 15. Long Bracted Green Orchid Tresses (Spiranthes cernua). (Coeloglossum viride) ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND An introduced species of orchid - 16. Helleborine PHOTOGRAPHERS the Helleborine (Epipactus helleborine) - (Epipactus helleborine) Tom Shields, Henry Glowka, and Kevin has become the most abundant 17. Showy Lady’s Slipper Tipson are active or former (Kevin) members orchid along the Bruce Trail, and is (Cypripedium reginae) of the Southern Ontario Orchid Society’s found on almost every BTC property. 18. Hooded Ladies’ Tresses Conservation Committee, which works to Helleborine seems to be a contradic - (Spiranthes romanzoffiana) preserve orchid habitats everywhere. tion in a group of plants that are 19. Nodding Ladies’ Tresses notoriously known for their rarity, as (Spiranthes cernua)

34 BRuCE TRAIL MAGAzINE SPRING 201 4