Once thought to be quite rare in the Pinelands, perhaps because of its small stature and nondescript appearance, it is popping up all over these days it seems. Howard Boyd, in his Wildflowers of the Pine Barrens of New Jersey (2001), wrote, "Extremely rare in southern New Jersey. This writer knows of only two locations for it: one well within the pine barrens and one near the coast."
I know of five locations for this plant, and have seen and photographed it in four of these.
Including in the middle of a path in my yard. Just a single plant, I searched all around for another without success.
I know, crazy. How did it find its way to our yard?
The next two images give a feel for just how small this plant is.
To keep the rabbits away, and us from inadvertently stepping on it, I surrounded it with a one foot square fence. The orchid is directly below the metal leaf in the lower square in the back left corner.
And this is an image at the start of the path. The cage is at the end, where the path turns to the right. Barely visible with the flower completely invisible at this distance, maybe twenty feet. No wonder they were considered so rare.
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