Nodding Ladies’ Tresses-Spiranthes cernua
Technically it is still summer, but there is a bit of Autumn in the air, a few leaves are changing color, not many but a few, and late season flowers are in bloom, like goldenrod and asters. These small September blooming native orchids are always a treat to find in wet spots and I found a few Sunday morning at a favorite pond in Petersham.
Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog 
Spiranthes always inspires. Ours aren’t due for a couple of months yet.
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Always thrills too.
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Very nice Autumn Orchid image Steve! Enjoyed seeing it!
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Thanks, Reed!
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Beautiful! It’s been 110 degrees here. No signs of autumn.
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Thanks, Alessandra. I just spoke to my brother in Fairfax. A bit cooler there at 105°.
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117 yesterday
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Beautiful flowers that flourish in a moist environment! The only sign we have that may be mistaken as the beginning of fall is the leaves falling off the trees because of the extreme heat and dry spell.
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Although not as hot as those of you on the west coast are experiencing, we had what for us was a bad heat spell in the mid and upper 90’s. That coupled with no rain until yesterday means our flowers are not doing as well as they might and we are waiting to see what that will do to our foliage this year.
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Nice shot, Steve, and we’re getting rain at last, woo-hoo!
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Thanks, Eliza!
I think we ended up with two or three inches…a month’s worth or more in one day. Can’t complain though as we needed it and it still wasn’t enough to erase the drought conditions.
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Its name certainly fits! Wonderful photo, Steve!
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Thanks, Belinda! It’s a lovely little thing.
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That is a pretty plant and a beautiful capture, Steve!
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Thanks, Tina. It’s always a delight to happen across one or a few of these.
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Gorgeous! I’d have had no idea this was an orchid. I love the background, helps the flowers really stand out. We’ve also been seeing a few leaves change color here and there. I’m noticing it with poplar, which seem to change and let fall one leaf at a time.
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Thanks, Todd! I didn’t realize it was an orchid the first time I found one until giving it a close examination.
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A treat indeed.
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Yes, indeedy.
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Such a lovely spiral of little blossoms.
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That it is. I was lucky to find it at this time. Next week the lower blooms will have browned.
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The piece of land where I could reliably find these has been sold, scalped, bulldozed, and generally given over to development. This year, I’ll have to depend on luck for finding them — they’re one of my favorite flowers.
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That’s a shame about the land being developed. I know Steve mentions that often for Austin. I go to mostly state or privately owned refuge lands so likely won’t have to make that complaint. I hope you have another reliable location for Ladies’ Tresses.
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What a pretty find!
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I’ve seen many of these but it’s always a pleasure to see another.
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Very nice! I like the way your photo shows the structure of the buds spiraling around the stem. Our Spiranthes blooms earlier. A clump really surprised me this year on the grassy, dry, south-facing slope of a small peninsula near home. I guess that spot receives enough water under the top layer of soil for them and the grass around them was tall enough to keep them from baking. They were covered with ants that were harvesting aphid dew (or something like that.)
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Chances are you are correct about the aphid dew. Ants are great little aphid farmers. Thanks, Lynn!
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