Tuesday, November 13, 2018

A fun find on the first day of November 2018


 November 1st  My sister, Sugar, and I decided to meet up at Rosy Mound Natural Area, an Ottawa County Park.  The leaves were so bright and the temperature mild, we took advantage of the opportunity. 
I walked at this park the end of September and found several Autumn Coralroot Orchid plants growing here but they were done blooming.  Or so I thought.
 
 As we walked along I kept an eye out for the orchid, wondering if I could even find the tiny plants again.  Then, there one was, an Autumn Coralroot!  And it was blooming!  We saw several more of the plants although no more that were blooming.   

The petals are small and quite hard to see.  I put a leaf behind the flower for a background and to make it easier to focus on the tiny petals.  I know it's not much, but those are petals, so yes it is blooming. 
 
Here is one of the clusters of coralroot.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

We enjoyed our walk, the beautiful trees, and each other's company.  I am so luck to have family nearby to get me out there.  You just never know what you might see on a walk, even if you have been to the same place many times!
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9 comments:

  1. Sara RallNovember 13, 2018 at 3:49 PM

    Beautiful photos and neat find!

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  2. Allen NorcrossNovember 13, 2018 at 5:25 PM

    I've searched for the autumn coral root for years with no luck. It might like the limey sweet soil that we don't have much of.
    That's a beautiful place!

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  3. AnonymousNovember 14, 2018 at 7:18 AM

    I'm glad you have other family members to walk with, too! I don't know how you do it. I'm drawn to your first photo - I could sit on that bench a long time and enjoy the view. An orchid! What a find for November! Plants that bloom out of season really make an impression. Remember that violet blooming in winter up on a dune? Look at all those trees! And stairs. Your photos put me in the forest. The last photo with Lake Michigan in the background, how grand. Thank you! M :)

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  4. DaveNovember 14, 2018 at 7:54 PM

    What a find. We love that place.

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  5. Plants Amaze MeNovember 15, 2018 at 4:40 PM

    Sara Rall, Thanks! It was a neat find. I wonder now if I just didn't look close enough in September to see a blooming coralroot.

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  6. Plants Amaze MeNovember 15, 2018 at 5:00 PM

    Thanks Allen, I'm not sure about the soil, the coralroot was growing in the woods, beech, oak, and maple, some pine, and mostly sandy soil.
    According to "Orchids of the North Woods" by Kim and Cindy Risen they grow in "rich, calcareous soils of moist, upland deciduous woods". This book covers orchids in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. I think it is a great field guide, but doesn't include New Hampshire. Some guides show it grows in the western half of your state?
    Rosy Mound is a beautiful place, sometimes I overlook it because I think of all the stairs.
    :)

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  7. Plants Amaze MeNovember 15, 2018 at 5:02 PM

    Thanks Dave! It is a great park, pretty in all seasons!

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  8. Plants Amaze MeNovember 15, 2018 at 5:16 PM

    To my Anonymous sister. I am lucky to have a network of people to keep me on the straight and narrow. I really wonder now if I missed some blooming petals when I saw them in September. It sure was a beautiful day at Rosy Mound.
    The violet, I think I remember... Maybe Hoffmaster, or was it Magoon Creek south of Manistee.. where we saw the bobcat?
    I'm glad you enjoy the photos and you are now IN the forest!
    :)

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  9. Mary StephensSeptember 21, 2019 at 7:53 PM

    I haven't been around for awhile, but whenever I come I enjoy your photos so much! It makes me kind of homesick, although not for the winter and short days. ;-)

    I have scheduled a post sharing the link to this post with my readers this coming November (2019).

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