If You Know Where To Look

Day 205: I braved light showers following the Volunteer Brunch today to walk down to the bottom of the campground in the hopes of finding emerging Calypso Orchids. I was not disappointed.

The lower campsites see little use compared with those closer to the community building, and in my opinion, one of them should be retired, the better to protect the colony of this somewhat rare plant growing there. It is not the only spot where they flourish, but it holds a significantly denser population. These small beauties are subject to death by footfall. If the flower stalk is broken and the plant's photosynthetic processes are disrupted, the root will die. At this stage of growth, they are difficult to see, so much care must be taken in entering the areas where they are known to occur. This photo was taken as a zoom from a picnic table, a previously scarified spot where nothing grows except the sturdiest moss.