Calypso Resplendent

Day 216: They are out by the hundred, and I spent my entire lunch hour on my hands and knees, crawling around in damp moss and forest debris and returned to the office with my hair full of foresty bits. The Calypso Orchids are in full bloom at Longmire, and I was fortunate to be able to find the white mutation as well as the parent variety.

A moisture lover, these delicate plants like to have their feet wet and therefore grow only in close proximity to a small stream which runs through the center of the volunteer campground. They prefer "sun-fleck" forest where shade rules over the transient glimmers of sunlight which penetrate the canopy. They are seldom abundant, and I have never seen a population as dense as that which has emerged this year.