Tipularia discolor

This was one of the highlights from the INPAWS walk on Saturday at Green's Bluff Nature Preserve in Owen County. This orchid has leaves throughout the winter, but loses them in the summer. The darkness of the photo shows why. The leaves are easily recognized by their wine-red underside. Tipularia is named for the cranefly and is called Cranefly Orchid. You can see much better pictures at Missouri plants. We also got to see Mountain Spleenwort and I got to spend time with Dr. Rothrock from Taylor University.