Olympic National Park is a first-rate orchid stop, and
Listera caurinaand
Corallorhiza mertensianaare first-rate finds. No surprise there, but it is hard to believe that originally the Olympic Mountains were denied national park status because some thought they lacked sufficient grandeur. After Teddy Rooseveltand#39;s initial National Monument designation succeeded in 1909, it took cousin Franklin Roosevelt to finally persuade Congress to take the final step twenty-nine years later in 1938. Olympic National Park is now one of the largest national parks in the contiguous forty-eight states, comprising close to a million acres (400,000 ha).
One of the most memorable panoramas in the park is best observed while walking the Hurricane Hill Trail at the terminus of the Hurricane Ridge Road. Sloping wildflower meadows blend into an unbroken sweep of inspiring dark green firs, which front a massive black-walled, snow-capped, serrated mountain range, remindful of grade school days when students made serrated paper cutouts on folded white paper. On the north side of the trail, clumps of subalpine firs (Abies lasiocarpa), accented by strategically placed bright white snow banks, guarantee perfect landscape pictures. We oblige. The most famous wildflowers in this part of the park are both lilies and#8212; the glacier (Erythronium grandiflorum) and avalanche (E. montanum). Neither is as plentiful this year as the guide book pictures suggest they should be, at least on 28 June.
The dominant colors along this section of the path are an appropriately patriotic red, white, and blue, represented by two species of Indian paint-brush and#8212; a brilliant scarlet (Castilleja miniata) and an unusual magenta (C. parviflora) and#8212; the intense blue rockslide larkspur (Delphinium glareosum) and the aforementioned white avalanche lily. No orchids grace these higher slopes on Hurricane Hill. We must descend to lower levels, where on the side of the road and down in the ditches, the tall white spikes of bog candle, Platanthera dilatata, beckon us to stop and investigate.
Platanthera dilatatais divided into several varieties and forms. One variation, the so-called Sierra rein-orchid, differs from P. dilatataprimarily in a longer spur and a smaller column, which we see some examples of here. The same situation applies to the so-called P. hyperboreacomplex. Seeing the group prowling the roadside prompts one or two cars to stop and ask what we are taking pictures of, and then move on. When, however, the object of interest is the ubiquitous mule deer, with the tell-tale black median stripe on the stubby tail, people stop and pull out their cameras en masse. The glamour of the mammals is demonstrated again.
In these ditches, several species of the little known genus Piperia(pronounced pie-perand#39;-ee-ah) luxuriate with little notice because of their tiny, demure, greenish flowers, and, until recently, confusion in taxonomic treatment. These plants were originally included in the genus Habenariauntil P. A. Rydberg formed a separate genus in 1901, named in honor of C. V. Piper of Pullman, Washington. Oakes Ames of Harvard University returned them to Habenariain 1910, while at the same time recognizing only two species of Rydbergand#39;s original nine. In 1950 D. S. Correll even lumped these two into a single species, P. unalascensis, considering all others mere variants. Carlyle Luer in 1975 again split them, this time into four species. Finally, Morgan and Ackerman, in 1990 and 1993, proved beyond doubt, it is hoped, the existence of ten bona fide species.
Several of these Piperiaspecies are endemic to California, the center of distribution, while all of them are confined to the Pacific coast except for P. unalascensis, which travels all the way to Alaska and jumps eastward to disjunct stations in Ontario and Quand#233;bec. The ten-member genus constitutes almost one-third of the total number of orchid species in California. The diagnostic differences between Piperiaand Habenaria(now Platantherafor the most part) are pretty clear-cut: the leaves of Piperiaare basal and wither at anthesis, while those of Habenariaare arranged along the stem and remain green through. Furthermore, the lateral sepals of Piperiaunite with the lip and the anther cells show some technical differences from their counterparts in Habenaria.
Separating the individual species of Piperiafrom each other can sometimes be tricky, however. We will see four species during the next few days in Washington and Oregon: P. candida, P. elegans, P. transversa, and P. unalascensis. Piperia candidais essentially whitish and has a short spur. Both P. elegansand P. transversahave a long spur and are green and whitish in flower color, but the spur of P. transversais usually (though not always) carried in a horizontal position, while that of P. elegansis vertically oriented. The flowers of P. transversaare usually more spaced out along the extended raceme than those of P. elegans.
Piperias are tall plants up to 2and#8211;3 feet (60and#8211;90 cm). The individual flowers, however, are so tiny that a loupe is very helpful in identification. Differences in scent can be diagnostic, especially at night; unfortunately I have lost some of my olfactory powers and have never done any night viewing. An excellent source for reference on this group is Ron Colemanand#39;s Wild Orchids of California(1995).
The "best" orchids, however, are reserved for some of the trails at low elevations in the park. Two notable ones are Heart of the Hills and Sol Duc. In both cases we walk under massive Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga taxifolia), western hemlock (Tsuga plicata), and western cedar (Thuja plicata) in a magnificent climax forest, where I stand in awe looking up at the trunks, 20 feet (6 m) in circumference, and crowns of 300-year-old trees. It is akin to walking down the hushed aisle of a darkened 300-year-old cathedral, but here the dimensions are even greater and the treasures are all alive.
Olympic National Park as a whole protects the largest virgin temperate rain forest in the Western Hemisphere and the largest stand of coniferous forest in the lower 48 states. One hundred and forty inches (355 cm) of rain fall in the famous Hoh rain forest on the western or oceanside of the park, while Port Angeles lying in the so-called rain-shadow of the Olympic Mountains on the "dry" northern side receives only 25 inches (62 cm). As a result, this amazing temperate forest officially became a biosphere reserve in 1976 and a world heritage site in 1981. The only other such example in North America is the worldand#39;s first national park, Yellowstone in Wyoming.
The Northwest twayblade, Listera caurina, is my favorite twayblade. The Latin name caurina, meaning "of the northwind" evokes just such a place as the Heart of the Forest Trail. The flower has a rich green lip with two deeper emerald-green lines running down each side of the lip and terminating basally in two beady black "eyes." It conjures up in my mind, especially as I write this on Halloween eve, a miniature Darth Vader cloaked in green, the vertical sepals and petals flaring above the lipcloak, like arms posed to strike any intruder or photographer daring to approach too closely. The 6- to 10-inch (15- to 25-cm) stem supports as many as two dozen or more of these little green Darth Vaders. This neat twayblade is the only Listeraspecies whose lip is essentially entire with no cleft, although some specimens exhibit a slight indentation. The plants prefer a reclusive existence (in keeping with their other-worldly looks) and are usually well separated from each other while still within "ear-shot."
The western coralroot, Corallorhiza mertensiana, is often a companion of Listera caurinaon these forest trails, as is L. cordata, the latter long out of bloom. The corairoot is here more prolific than the Northwest twayblade. It tends to grow in clumps like most of the coral-roots. One clump we saw had almost 100 closely packed stems. The colors vary a great deal but are mostly some shade of red-purple, which pervades the entire plant. The lip, which is the most colorful part of the plant, hangs down quite abruptly. It is spotted, streaked, or solidly brilliant red-purple, while the lateral petals, often coalesced with the dorsal sepal, stand erect above and behind the equally elongated and erect column. The lateral sepals fold down in back of these front-runners. The entire aspect of the flower differs from the spotted coralroot, C. maculata, the other coral root commonly found in these mountains. The western coralroot is tall and narrow, while the spotted coralroot is more squat and rounded. The column of the western coralroot is more elongated than the column of spotted coralroot, and all the petals and sepals are spotted with the same red-purple.
Carlyle Luer (1975) related a remarkable anecdote of the energy stored in the rhizome of this orchid. He had stopped his car to investigate something coming up through the asphalt:
A layer of asphalt perhaps an inch thick was being cracked and lifted by a reddish plant beneath. I was amazed to discover a husky, doubled-over stem of C. mertensiana, the lower flowers of which were already opened in their cramped quarters.
Surprisingly, both the Northwest twayblade and the western coralroot have almost identical distributions, which form an inverted open-end wrench shape on a map. Yellowstone, Wyoming, forms one tip to the right as you look at the map, and northwestern California the other on the left. The "handle" extends into western British Columbia. Corallorhiza mertensiana, incidentally, is the orchid that changed Ron Colemanand#39;s life in 1972, while hiking one of these trails in Olympic National Park.
Crescent Lake, on the perimeter of Olympic National Park, alongside U.S. Route 101, is our last stop on this 29th day of June. Here, near a small public beach, hundreds of prime stream orchids, Epipactis gigantea, blend in with the rock boulders at the edge of the water. They are tucked in between the rocks. To get the best picture, therefore, one must step down into the water, but no matter, for again my waterproof Asolos keep me dry. The lips on these plants are more intensely colored than one normally sees. A bright orange suffuses the lower half of the uniquely hinged lip, the so-called epichile portion, which moves about in the breeze, prompting that delightful epithet, chatterbox, just one among a long list of colloquial names. A loose raceme of ten to fifteen blooms is the usual complement of flowers, with ten or more alternate leaves attached to a 3-foot (90-cm), and occasionally up to 5-foot (150-cm), stem. The flower, not a giant, measures about 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter. Often locally abundant and persistent, the stream orchid is usually associated with water and often inundated in the spring.
W. H. A. Preece (1937) summed up the feelings of many who have come to love this orchid: "It is a treasure that scorns to advertise itself and that so blends with its surroundings as to be passed unnoticed by the multitude." This situation we witness first-hand at Crescent Lake, for not one of the dozens of bathers on this warm, sunny day is curious enough to come over and see what our group is doing. Perhaps that is just as well for the stream orchid.
It may be relevant to note here the criteria for the establishment of national and state parks. Alfred Runte (1979) lists the following four criteria: scenic wonders (e.g., Grand Canyon National Park); curiosities (e.g., Yellowstone National Park and#8212; geysers and thermal activity); utilitarian (e.g., Adirondack Park and#8212; New York City water supply); and recreational (e.g., Coulee Dam Recreational Area). Worthy of note also is that the Olympic Mountains are an excellent example of more recent mountain building (3 to 12 million years ago) as the result of plate tectonics. Simply put, the offshore oceanic Pacific Plate, with its accumulated sedimentary deposits, later metamorphosed by the earthand#39;s interior heat into sandstone and shale, collided with the North American Continental Plate, pushing under it while folding and uplifting the rock material into a tremendous dome, which then underwent glaciation and erosion to form the present configuration of peaks and valleys.
Unlike the Cascade Range, the Olympic Mountains were built independently of the volcanic cones. Olympic National Park contains the largest remaining stand of coniferous forest in the United States outside of Alaska and has the longest stretch of undeveloped coastline and#8212; 57 miles (91 km) and#8212; in the lower 48 states. These are just some of the amazing wonders under permanent protection, it is hoped, in this national park.
To conclude this chapter on the treasures of the Pacific Northwest, we cannot leave without at least a mention of yet another jewel. On another day we visited Lake Elizabeth, in the Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, east of Seattle, off U.S. Route 2. I was shown an extraordinary clump of Listera caurinaon the shore of this little gem. The plants were more than 10 inches (25 cm) tall, with leaves exceeding 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter and the flowers proportionate. This orchid surpassed all the dimensions in the books, hidden in the shade of trees among a jumble of small boulders above the boggy edges of Lake Elizabeth. Down below on the open boggy apron of the lake, we also found Platanthera chorisiana, one of North Americaand#39;s smallest and rarest platantheras. Unfortunately, it was several days away from opening on this 27th day of June. When open, the flower is a tiny globe, the sepals and petals barely crack open. Until fairly recently it was known only from the islands of Japan, across the Aleutian Islands, and on the coastal islands of British Columbia. It is now also known from extreme northwestern Washington and may be less rare than suspected.
To get to Lake Elizabeth requires an almost 7-mile (11-km) drive over a very bumpy gravel road that climbs several thousand feet into the subalpine forest where firs like the subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) dominate. Along this road, choking the wet ditch and hiding the water from view, are a lush growth of very tall slender bog-orchids (Platanthera stricta), many western red columbines (Aquilegia formosa) looking like varieties back east, the dangling creamy white "catkins" of the goatand#39;s beard (Aruncus formosa), the bright orange Columbia lily (Lilium columbianum) with maroon spots, and tremendous clumps of the handsome, shining deer fern (Blechnum spicant). That roadside display is only a prelude to the main show up at the lake.