On a short hike this afternoon I encountered several dozen groups of Indian Pipes. They are not rare, but live in forested areas in deep shade and can be easily overlooked. It was unusual to see so many along a short (perhaps half a mile) piece of trail. They usually grow in groups and have many attractive poses. And so I got carried away with photos.
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The common name ‘Indian Pipe’ refers to the pipe-like flowering stalks. It is also called ‘Ghost Flower’ and is in a leafless, saprophytic subfamily of Monotropae. They do not have chlorophyll or green leaves and do not manufacture their own food, obtaining food instead from decaying material in the tree litter and humus. They do not depend on the sun and are usually found in the deep shade of coniferous forests. While their pretty little faces always point straight down (and therefore are very difficult to photograph), the fruit eventually points straight up!
Most often the photos in my posts are taken in the course of a hike, typically eight to ten miles or so, but this one was taken on a hike of less than fifty yards; in my own back yard.
Many years ago when we first moved to this place we decided that we would leave nearly all of the property in its original natural state, and so it has been, with a few minor exceptions. Down below the house there is an area one could call a “thicket”, mostly full of hawthorn trees and other shrubs and with all of the sharp spines, a rather inhospitable place. Over the years I have created and maintained a couple small paths (about 18 inches wide and six feet tall) through it as a courtesy to the deer, giving them a hidden route to follow and a friendly place to hang out, where they can be out of sight and out of danger. I periodically clip out the dead branches that infringe on the trail and in doing so the other day I discovered some plants that I had never seen there before; White Bog-orchids. I suspect that it was Nature’s way of rewarding me for my kindness to Her deer.
Today I briefly visited a favorite old trail even though the day was a little warmer than I like for hiking. But a trail that had no visitors on a holiday weekend was still a good place to be.
USFS trail 345 on a bright summer day.
White Spirea, Shinyleaf Spirea ~ Spiraea lucida
Alaska rein orchid, slender-spire orchid ~ Piperia unalascensis
Near the start of the trail, where it first crosses the stream, the vegetation is heavy at the crossing. The flowering shrub to the right of the trail is called “Ocean Spray”.
Ocean-spray, Creambush ~ Holodiscus discolor
Sometimes a tree will fall across the trail. This one is a couple miles up from the trail head. For perspective, I leaned my hiking staff on the tree: the staff is 62 inches long.
Brown-eyed Susan ~ Gaillardia aristata
White Spirea, Shinyleaf Spirea ~ Spiraea lucida
Many flowers have already completed their summer and have already gone to seed. This one is from a Yellow Salsify.
I think this one is from a species of Butterweed.
Common St. Johnswort, Klamath weed ~ Hypericum perforatum
