# I went Wild Orchid Hunting: I need help identifying what I found (pics) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 22, 2007, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-wild-orchid-hunting-i-need-help-identifying-what-i-found-pics/405115 "2007-05-22T18:45:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-wild-orchid-hunting-i-need-help-identifying-what-i-found-pics/405115/1 "2007-05-22T18:45:48Z")
Though I am sure not all of these are orchids…I know we do have some wild orchids in the deciduous forests around my home in Southern New England. I am completely at a loss for what some of these are, but they are quite beautiful. Can someone out there help with the names of these four flowers… [Flower 1](http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r156/Phlosphr/Unsure.jpg) [Flower 2](http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r156/Phlosphr/wildorchid.jpg) [Flower 3](http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r156/Phlosphr/2007_0521cats0117.jpg) And I’m pretty sure this one is a [Lady Slipper](http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r156/Phlosphr/Ladyslipper-07.jpg) Thanks all. It’s amazing what can be found in ones own back yard! ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-wild-orchid-hunting-i-need-help-identifying-what-i-found-pics/405115/2 "2007-05-22T18:49:05Z")
I would have guessed that your Flower 2 is some kind of [trillium](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trillium). Not sure, though. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-wild-orchid-hunting-i-need-help-identifying-what-i-found-pics/405115/3 "2007-05-22T18:49:32Z")
[QUOTE=Phlosphr] Though I am sure not all of these are orchids…I know we do have some wild orchids in the deciduous forests around my home in Southern New England. I am completely at a loss for what some of these are, but they are quite beautiful. Can someone out there help with the names of these four flowers… [Flower 1](http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r156/Phlosphr/Unsure.jpg) [Flower 2](http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r156/Phlosphr/wildorchid.jpg) [Flower 3](http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r156/Phlosphr/2007_0521cats0117.jpg) And I’m pretty sure this one is a [Lady Slipper](http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r156/Phlosphr/Ladyslipper-07.jpg) Thanks all. It’s amazing what can be found in ones own back yard! [/QUOTE] First one looks like Columbine to me. (Nah…I just looked it up and I retract that guess) Second one, maybe White Trillium? Third one…hmmm…maybe some kind of violet? Not sure. The last one, yes…I think that’s right. ---
**Author:** ![Snowcarpet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowcarpet/32/257_2.png) [@Snowcarpet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowcarpet)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-wild-orchid-hunting-i-need-help-identifying-what-i-found-pics/405115/4 "2007-05-22T18:52:48Z")
1. Columbine 2. ? 3. Violet Wags only. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-wild-orchid-hunting-i-need-help-identifying-what-i-found-pics/405115/5 "2007-05-22T18:53:28Z")
#3 is a New Hampshire Death Violet. Very pretty, but fatal to the touch. Hope your will is up to date. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-wild-orchid-hunting-i-need-help-identifying-what-i-found-pics/405115/6 "2007-05-22T19:00:36Z")
[QUOTE=Snowcarpet] 1. Columbine 2. ? 3. Violet Wags only. [/QUOTE] Huh. Maybe I was right on #1. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-wild-orchid-hunting-i-need-help-identifying-what-i-found-pics/405115/7 "2007-05-22T19:05:20Z")
More (inconclusive) evidence for your #2 being a trillium: it looks to me quite a lot like [_Trillium rugelii_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trillium_rugelii), but the _T. rugelli_ species is said to be native to the southeastern US, so I’m not sure what it would be doing up in southern New England. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-wild-orchid-hunting-i-need-help-identifying-what-i-found-pics/405115/8 "2007-05-22T19:11:37Z")
[QUOTE=Kimstu] More (inconclusive) evidence for your #2 being a trillium: it looks to me quite a lot like [_Trillium rugelii_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trillium_rugelii), but the _T. rugelli_ species is said to be native to the southeastern US, so I’m not sure what it would be doing up in southern New England. [/QUOTE] Thats it! I dunno what it’s doing in New England, but it was certainly in a deciduous forest. Right at the base of some sweet maples in a dried up vernal pool. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-wild-orchid-hunting-i-need-help-identifying-what-i-found-pics/405115/9 "2007-05-22T19:11:17Z")
And I second the guess about #3 being a violet of some sort. Check it out against images of [sweet violet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viola_odorata) or the wild [dog violet](http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/violacons.html) (the latter would be my guess). And I also agree that #4 is a lady’s slipper. Nice work spotting that one! ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-wild-orchid-hunting-i-need-help-identifying-what-i-found-pics/405115/10 "2007-05-22T19:17:07Z")
> [@Phlosphr](#): > > Thats it! I dunno what it’s doing in New England, but it was certainly in a deciduous forest. Aha—my bet is that what you saw is actually the similar-looking [T. cernuum](http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/trilliumcern.html), which does grow this far north. Still mulling over your #1; some kind of honeysuckle, perhaps??? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-wild-orchid-hunting-i-need-help-identifying-what-i-found-pics/405115/11 "2007-05-22T19:19:55Z")
Woo-hoo! #1 is a [wild red columbine](http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/aquilegiacana.html). God bless the Connecticut Botanical Society, who let you search their wildflower database by color. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-wild-orchid-hunting-i-need-help-identifying-what-i-found-pics/405115/12 "2007-05-22T19:43:54Z")
Your #3 looks like a a wood sorrel. Maybe [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalis_enneaphylla). ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-wild-orchid-hunting-i-need-help-identifying-what-i-found-pics/405115/13 "2007-05-22T20:14:17Z")
I am guessing (or rather hoping) that “wild orchid hunting” in this case means looking for and photographing, and not collecting\*. \*obligatory reference to the inadvisability/illegality of harvesting orchids from the wild, which will probably then die in one’s garden due to transplant shock and lack of beneficial organisms in the soil. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-wild-orchid-hunting-i-need-help-identifying-what-i-found-pics/405115/14 "2007-05-22T20:18:11Z")
**Jack** has a good point. If you want to cultivate rare native wildflowers in your own garden, don’t kidnap them from the wild. Find a vendor who sells them (maybe your local arboretum or botanical society propagates native plants for sale). And **Cheez** , IMO no way is Flower 3 a wood sorrel. The characteristic “hanging head” just screams “violet”, AFAICT. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-wild-orchid-hunting-i-need-help-identifying-what-i-found-pics/405115/15 "2007-05-22T20:23:21Z")
1. is what we call Honeysuckle around here, but it is a Columbine 2. agreed, Trillium 3. Hard to see the leaves, but I’m guessing Wood Violet ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-wild-orchid-hunting-i-need-help-identifying-what-i-found-pics/405115/16 "2007-05-22T20:26:10Z")
#3 is definitely NOT wood sorrel - wrong leaves and flowers entirely. My guess is a dog violet, based on the petal shape and color and the “hairs” on the two petals. Dog violets, unlike other violets, have this fuzz inside. [Compare to this dog violet picture.](http://www.glaucus.org.uk/DogViolet039E.jpg) The leaves are just your basic [violet leaves.](http://sagehen.ucnrs.org/Photos/misc.%20credits/al_grigarich/blue-violet/slides/B050%20Truckee%20%20Western%20Dog%20Violet%20%20Viola%20adunca.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-wild-orchid-hunting-i-need-help-identifying-what-i-found-pics/405115/17 "2007-05-22T20:35:48Z")
So, tallying up the best-guess ID’s so far: - Flower 1 is [Wild Red Columbine (Rock Bells)](http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/aquilegiacana.html), _Aquilegia canadensis_; - Flower 2 is [Nodding Trillium](http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/trilliumcern.html), _Trillium cernuum_; - Flower 3 is [Dog Violet](http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/violacons.html), _Viola conspersa_; - Flower 4 is, as the OP suggested, [Pink Lady’s-slipper (Pink Moccasin-flower)](http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/cypripediumacau.html), _Cypripedium acaule_. Interestingly, the first of those is a member of the buttercup family, the second of the lily family, and the third of the violet family. Only the fourth is actually an orchid! ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-wild-orchid-hunting-i-need-help-identifying-what-i-found-pics/405115/18 "2007-05-22T20:36:58Z")
\< crickets \> ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-wild-orchid-hunting-i-need-help-identifying-what-i-found-pics/405115/19 "2007-05-22T22:12:45Z")
[QUOTE=Jackmannii] I am guessing (or rather hoping) that “wild orchid hunting” in this case means looking for and photographing, and not collecting\*. \*obligatory reference to the inadvisability/illegality of harvesting orchids from the wild, which will probably then die in one’s garden due to transplant shock and lack of beneficial organisms in the soil. [/QUOTE] I should have been more specific…I work for an environmental non-profit organization i.e. dirt worshipping treehuggers. I will not even touch the flowers I photograph. Let alone rip their frail roots from the ground. Most if not all of the flowers I photograph are found in vernal pool areas, low lying deciduous forests where there are a lot of mosses and ancient creek beds. I live in an environ that would not support these flowers, the best part about them is where they are from. Not a lot of people around here see these. So the only lasting impression they will give, is with a frame around their photograph hanging in my study. I love the reaction people have when I tell them I photographed these flowers in my back wood. They never believe me. It’s humorous 🙂 Thanks all for the identifiers. I’ll post some more after tomorrows hike. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-wild-orchid-hunting-i-need-help-identifying-what-i-found-pics/405115/20 "2007-05-23T12:49:22Z")
[Here’s](http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r156/Phlosphr/LadysSlipper.jpg) another cool lady slipper. And [This](http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r156/Phlosphr/Lillies3.jpg) may be in the lilly family. Not sure… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-wild-orchid-hunting-i-need-help-identifying-what-i-found-pics/405115.md?page=2)