Stalking Wild Orchids

Wild

Orchids seduce Ronald Coleman. He was smitten on the spot three decades ago.

“Wild orchids continue to fascinate me because of their beauty, rarity, the thrill of the hunt and the challenge of photographing them,” says the author of The Wild Orchids of Arizona and New Mexico. The initial object of Coleman’s passion: a 14-inch plant with a leafless stem sporting eight three-quarter-inch purplish-pink, brown and white flowers. Spotted in 1972 at Washington’s Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park, the Corallorhiza mertensiana was as good as gold for Coleman.

“I had been growing commercially available orchids on my windowsill for about two years, so I knew about orchids and was even aware that some were native to the United States,” says the Tucson resident. “But I hadn’t contemplated ever finding any. Since I was already hooked on orchids and wildflowers, this was a match made in heaven. For the rest of that trip, and ever since, I’ve spent all my vacations and most weekends during the blooming season looking for orchids. Off-season, I spend time at the library researching orchids.” The largest family of flowering plants in the world, orchids are the second-largest commercial flower crop in the United States, behind only poinsettias. More than 25,000 kinds of wild orchids exist worldwide, with some 200 species native to the United States.

Remarkably durable, orchids have adapted to varied climates, from steamy jungles to arid deserts, and with the exception of Antarctica, orchids grow naturally on every continent. Arizona is home to 26 native orchids, found in 13 of the state’s 15 counties. Sonoran Desert species growing close to cacti include the Hexalectris warnockii, H. revoluta, H. spicata and Epipactis gigantea.

Perhaps the heartiest Arizona wild orchid is the Stenorrhynchos michuacanum. Pale green, with dark-green stripes, the flowers possess a mild, musty fragrance that is noticeable at night, suggesting pollination by night-flying insects. “This orchid grows in the most difficult conditions, in alligator juniper forests at elevations of

ORCHIDS Arizona has 26 species of the world's largest flower family