Orchids of the Chicago Wilderness
A Passion for Saving Paradise

by Kathleen Marie Garness

If a time machine could take us back to the swales, prairies and woodlands surrounding the southern shore of Lake Michigan, early 1800s, we would see biodiversity paralleled only by the tropics. Thousands of species made this area their home, and of those, few were more exotic than the orchids — there were almost 50 species here. From the tall, regal Cypripedium reginae, whose populations have tragically been destroyed by florists and collectors, to the three-inch Triphora trianthophora, orchids presided over the wet swales, prairie potholes and bogs, enticing insects through devious sexual adaptations to pollinate them so they could continue their beauty into the coming generations.

From my first encounter with a tropical orchid in a florist’s shop to the moment when I learned that there were native orchids only a few miles from my home, the question kept surfacing: Can we possibly have a healthy coexistence with them, preserving enough natural habitat? And furthermore, how are they doing now? Some 25% of native orchid species are extirpated from our area and another 25% are endangered or threatened statewide. Knowing this gave me the passion to learn to understand and hopefully document the species before they were all gone. Hopefully, I might inspire more people to conserve the dwindling habitat of these sentinels of history.

Records from the botanists of the early 1800s describe colonies of small white lady’s slippers and prairie white fringed orchids growing by the thousands in prairies long since turned to plow and the interstate system. Woodland species such as the showy orchid Galearis spectabilis, were diminished when the oak woods were cut for home construction, businesses and the plank roads that connected Chicago and its neighboring towns to the Illinois River and the I&M Canal. Others, such as the pink stemless lady’s slipper, Cypripedium acaule, and the delicate rose pogonia orchid, Pogonia ophioglossoides, were destroyed when the bogs and shallow acidic potholes left behind by the last ice age were drained to make way for farmland, homes and, businesses.

Others, such as the showy lady’s slipper, Cypripedium reginae, have been hunted almost to extinction due to its beauty and size. In 1927, Herman Pepoon, who knew the plant as C. hirsutum, stated that they were “formerly found by the thousands near Clarke Junction, Indiana on swale borders. Rapidly becoming exterminated by professional orchid gatherers, who collect the flowers for florists, one teacher gathered 889 in one swamp in southwestern Michigan, and only picked freshly opened specimens.” Now the plant is almost extirpated in Illinois. With only a few small colonies remaining statewide, it is threatened increasingly by brush shading it out. Orchids are among the most rare plants in our region — but they are still holding on for dear life.

Increasing public awareness of the value of preserving habitat for native plants and animals, especially in watershed areas, has resulted in thousands of acres of land acquisition in our region. On the face of it, that would seem to be very positive. But with that is also the responsibility of the agencies to manage the land properly, conduct prescribed burns, recruit volunteers, and educate neighbors. All of these things take time — and money. And in these times, that’s a significant challenge. It seems, however, that the legacy of natural areas’ destruction, or even just benign neglect, is being reversed and our natural areas are making a comeback.

A few years ago, I tagged along with a group of botanists to visit an amazing area — a site recently dedicated as an Illinois Nature Preserve. We slogged through sandy areas full of poison ivy, cheered by birdsong, then were delighted to see Illinois native prickly pear cactus in full bloom! Jean Sellar, retired United States Army Corps of Engineers ecologist, had helped save this area from development and was showing it off to our group. I was thrilled to see the almost-tropical yellow flowers, and had no idea at the time what other botanical riches were in store for us.

A quarter-mile walk led us to a wet depression where a profusion of grass pink orchids (Calopogon tuberosus) bloomed. We stood on the edge in admiration, enjoying their delicate beauty amidst lush fronds of marsh shield fern, not wanting to step foot in that sensitive habitat for fear of squashing an endangered species or compacting the fragile soil.

Sellar pointed out delicate stems of the tiny, well-named ragged fringed orchid (Platanthera lacera). The long, untidy fringes on the orchid’s lip remind one of the elegant prairie white-fringed orchid in miniature; they often enjoy the same habitat. That day, we saw two other species of native orchids, making that a record four-orchid day! The plants all happily coexisted in this rich area and I was happy to see very little sign of invasive species. I wish that were true of every place where I have found orchids.

When the Illinois Department of Natural Resources first began tracking the nationally-threatened prairie white fringed orchid in DuPage County, Illinois in 1973, there was already a concern that loss of habitat and pollinators might prove the end of this rare, lovely prairie queen. The orchid is listed as federally threatened, with only 38 populations (of an original 44) remaining in Illinois. Of those 38, 14 are probably no longer viable or even lost, leaving us with perhaps 24 viable populations statewide. All but one of the viable populations are within, or immediately adjacent to, counties within Chicago Wilderness boundaries.

Dedicated, consistent annual monitoring and hand-pollination trials by the volunteers and staff of the Orchid Recovery Project — initiated by Dr. Marlin Bowles of The Morton Arboretum and ably run for many years by June Keibler and Diana Granito, hopes to assure that the species will remain as one of our local treasures. Cathy Pollock, from the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service, has recently been studying them in great detail, sleeping overnight in the prairies to observe the pollination process and collect population data.

Researcher Pati Vitt has found that only a small percentage of prairie white fringed orchid seed is usually viable, and then only if the tiny, dust-like seeds find suitable moist habitat containing the fungi that are essential to their germination and growth. And only then if the fungi don’t consume the seed instead of forming a symbiotic partnership with it! But if the partnership is successful, the orchid plant (which can take anywhere from two to 15 years from seed to first flower) will send starches, sugars and other nutrients vital to the fungi back to its original host.

Schiller Woods steward Cathy Bloome has been involved since 1993 with the prairie white fringed orchid as one of its many regional volunteers. She has been monitoring other orchids through The Nature Conservancy since the late 1980s, mostly in Cook and Lake counties. She says that because the tiny remnant populations are scattered so far apart, the pollinators (primarily the native sphinx moth) have difficulty doing their job. The moths are also being impacted by pesticides used in homes. This pattern seems typical of many of our native orchids and other rare flora.

Orchids range from the exquisitely lovely to just plain weird. Instead of several equal petals or sepals and the usual bilaterally or radially symmetrical arrangement of reproductive parts, there is a characteristic, often showy lip that leads pollinators to the fused sexual parts called the column. This lip is one of nature’s great impersonators. It has evolved from mimicking a female wasp (including her pheromones) to something resembling the backside of a fly, to a moth in flight. The pouch lures unwary insects down around and through a narrow passage and up the back to have the orchid’s pollen smashed onto the unwary intruder’s back before it finally finds its way out.

Unique and even precious, native orchids are sentinels of both an area’s natural health and ecological history. If we are to preserve these beautiful plants for future generations to enjoy, we must all do our part to protect them. Advocate for natural areas acquisition and, most importantly, ongoing restoration. Lobby for preservation of Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ and related agencies’ funding. Give support to programs such as Plants of Concern, which has inspired countless local nature lovers to take that next step and become a vital part of the Chicago Wilderness community of stewards, monitors and natural areas’ restoration volunteers.

 

Related Articles:

Rare Endangered & Saved on Flickr, CW, Winter 2009

Sphinx Moths: Bird and Bee Impersonators, CW, Summer 2008