Out and About Again

July 3-4, 2026

Author: Phyllis Root
Photographer: Kelly Povo

It’s been a while since Kelly’s and my schedules aligned, but this past weekend they did, so we headed to some of our favorite places looking for orchids. And whatever else we could see, of course–it’s not that we’re just orchid fanatics. Really we’re not.

Our first orchid stop (okay, we’re a little fanatical) was an unmarked turnoff that a friend had found and shared with us. We’d been here before, the last time memorably getting our boots stuck in muck as we ran from a rainstorm. This time, although rain threatened, none fell.

This tucked-away cedar grove is one of the few places we’ve seen large round-leaved orchid (Platanthera orbiculata) with its almost ethereal looking blossoms. Under the shade of cedar trees the orchids were beginning to bloom, and among them we also found blunt-leaved orchid (Platanthera obtusata) blooming, one of the very few places we’ve ever seen it.

Diligent searching for lesser rattlesnake plantain orchid, which we’d seen there before, resulted in one tiny plant growing out of a mossy log. I called for Kelly to come see, but we had both wandered in different directions, and by the time we reconnected I had lost my bearings and couldn’t relocate the very tiny lesser rattlesnake plantain. But it was growing there, and so, along the trail into the site, were several lovely Loesel’s twayblade orchids.

By the time we reached Iron Springs Bog Scientific and Natural Area (SNA) the day had turned hot and muggy, but we didn’t care. We were in one of our very favorite flower-chasing places, and it didn’t disappoint. We saw showy lady’s- slipper orchids–far too many to count. We also saw a long-bracted frog orchid, and plenty of Platanthera huronensis and Platanthera aquilonis blooming. These two similar orchids of the Platanthera genus are the reason we felt compelled to learn the scientific names of all eleven of the Platanthera orchids that grow in Minnesota. Not only did they look similar but the various common names for them also confusingly overlap. Both have been commonly called some combination of tall northern bog orchid, northern green orchid, northern bog orchid, north wind bog orchid, northern green bog orchid. Just to be sure we knew which orchid we meant we took to calling them huronensis and aquilonis. The habit spilled over into the other Platanthera genus members. Besides, although we are not botanists, we feel rather botany-ish using scientific names.

Our hunt for white adder’s-mouth was unsuccessful, as was our hunt for tall white bog orchid (Platanthera dilatata), but we did see plenty of green adder’s- mouth (familiarly known to us as mop top–we’re not always botany-ish).
Our trip included two more orchid-seeking stops the next day. By the time we arrived at the first unmarked site, the air had turned thundery, so we donned our rain coats and made our way to where we had once seen Hooker’s orchid (Platanthera hookeri). So many trees had fallen since our last visit that we were sure they were covering up the orchids we’d seen there before and couldn’t find now.

Rain fell in torrents as we headed back to the car. Luckily we had our raincoats on, although we hadn’t bothered with rain pants. We’ll dry soon, we assured ourselves. But it’s hard for wet pants to dry when the rain keeps falling. Sitting on towels, we drove down the road to another favorite SNA, where to our delight we found a whole little patch of blunt-leaved orchid (Platanthera obtusata) just beginning to bloom in the silvery light. Luckily I use an all-weather notebook, and Kelly always brings an umbrella for me to hold over her camera in inclement weather. In the same small area we also found early coralroot, heart-leaved twayblade gone to seed, lesser round-leaved orchid gone to seed, showy lady’s-slipper, bloomed-out small yellow lady’s-slipper, and a colony of tiny rattlesnake plantain growing jubilantly over a mossy hummock. Orchid heaven for flower chasers.

By the time we were ready to head home our orchid-seeking hearts and our pants were both saturated. In our haste to put on dry clothes when no cars were driving by, I somehow left a boot behind, and Kelly’s sunshade had disappeared, although we didn’t realize either loss until we got home and unloaded my gear when Kelly dropped me at my house. If anyone comes across a single hiking book with a tick gaiter attached to it or a round nylon case containing an expandable sun shade, you know where to find us.

A boot, a gaiter, and a sunshade seem like small losses weighed against the wealth of wildflowers and orchids that we saw. Even if we’d seen nothing, it felt good to be searching again. And yes, we saw plenty of other flowers besides orchids–twinflower, bunchberry, purple pitcher plant, Canada mayflower, one-flowered pyrola, one-sided pyrola, round-leaved pyrola, pink pyrola, green-flowered pyrola, shinleaf, tufted loosestrife, and more. Even if we hadn’t seen orchids, our hearts would still be overflowing.

It’s good to be out and about, chasing flowers (and sometimes even catching them) again.

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