Fringed Orchid

I’ve been wanting to search for native plants to photograph in the Francis Marion National Forest for a long time, but it has always seemed like a daunting task, with the combination of the immensity of the forest plus the heat and humidity of summer. But an opportunity arose this summer that I could not ignore.

A neighbor and a native plant enthusiast began posting photos of his trips into the forest on social media, including some stunning fringed orchids that I knew I had to photograph.

Since the end of summer was approaching, I needed to act fast if I wanted to photograph these plants while they were still blooming. After getting directions to the area of the forest where they were located, I set off early one morning in order to beat the heat. I was prepared for a long search in the woods, but I actually spotted them from the road as I slowly drove by.

It ended up being a relatively quick trip, but it worked out well, because it started to rain heavily within thirty minutes of being there. As an extra bonus, I didn’t even notice the praying mantis photobombing the orchid until I looked at the photos afterward! Can you find it?