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Three Birds Orchids - 2020 On our property in Hiawassee, Georgia |
All Text & Images: Copyright (2020) |
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Three Birds Orchids - 2020 On our property in Hiawassee, Georgia |
All Text & Images: Copyright (2020) |
| 1 - July 22, 2020 - First Bloom of the Year The first flowering (out of 4-6 in a season) is always small: |
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| Three Birds Orchid (Triphora trianthophora) |
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| 2 - July 25, 2020 - Second Bloom of the Year Just three days later, a much larger flowering: |
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| A pair of TBO flowers, one with a colored flower lip. |
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| The second flowering consisted of mostly single flowers, with the occasional pair. |
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| A trio of single flowers... |
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| 3 - July 28, 2020 Not a true synchronous bloom, but a few random plants flowered today: |
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| Three Birds Orchid |
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| 4 - August 6, 2020 Almost two weeks after the second bloom, the flower buds rose again: |
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When the buds rise to an upright position, the next bloom is imminent |
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| 5 - August 7, 2020 - A Tsunami of Blooms! I had never seen such a flowering of Three Birds Orchids. It was truly a sight to behold! |
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| A group of beautiful rose-purple tinted flowers |
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| A pretty trio, the eponym of the Three Birds Orchid name. |
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| This Halictid Bee was gathering nectar deep inside the flower. As it backed out, the pollinia (pollen mass, red in the photo) stuck to its back, and it flew off to pollinate other flowers. |
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| In prior years, I had rarely seen plants with three flowers blooming. Today I saw many with four, and even one with five blooms. |
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| Three plants with three flowers, and one with four! |
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| Nice pink around the edges! |
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| Another plant with four flowers! |
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| Triphora trianthophora |
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| This plant (r) was actually the first one I saw today with three flowers. |
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| We are lucky to have something besides pure white flowers in our region. |
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| Looking down from above on a group of Three Birds Orchids. |