Scorched Earth Resurrection (1)
Longleaf pine and longleaf pine habitats not only survive fires but are highly adapted to thrive within fire-evolved landscapes, and they are among the most species-diverse ecosystems in North America for both plants and animals.
I’m going to finish my series of recent shots from Apalachicola National Forest (ANF) with two or three installments of photos of Many-flowered Grass-pink (Calopogon multiflorus), my main target on this trip to ANF. There are four species of Calopogon orchids in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains, C. barbatus, C. multiflorus, C. pallidus and C. tuberosus. Of those, C. multiflorus is the least common and the only one I had never seen before.
Many-flowered Grass-pink has an extremely positive (and quick) response to early growing season fires in its habitat, and ANF had been doing considerable prescribed burning in recent months and weeks. Of the four Coastal Plain species of Calopogon, this one is unlikely to be found in the wetter, open, pitcher plant habitats. It prefers drier and more shaded habitat, so I looked in such areas that had burned most recently based on minimal amounts of green-up. The place where I found the orchid was showing some green-up of grasses and herbaceous vegetation, but the only plant I saw in flower besides the orchid was Yellow Star Grass, Hypoxis hirsuta. The Grass-pinks were literally occasional rays of pink ‘sunshine’ in an otherwise scorched landscape. Soon though, and throughout this years’ growing season, the burns will be flush with vegetative diversity including myriads of beautiful wildflowers.
Notice how many pine needles had fallen since the fire.
Scorched Earth Resurrection (1)
Longleaf pine and longleaf pine habitats not only survive fires but are highly adapted to thrive within fire-evolved landscapes, and they are among the most species-diverse ecosystems in North America for both plants and animals.
I’m going to finish my series of recent shots from Apalachicola National Forest (ANF) with two or three installments of photos of Many-flowered Grass-pink (Calopogon multiflorus), my main target on this trip to ANF. There are four species of Calopogon orchids in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains, C. barbatus, C. multiflorus, C. pallidus and C. tuberosus. Of those, C. multiflorus is the least common and the only one I had never seen before.
Many-flowered Grass-pink has an extremely positive (and quick) response to early growing season fires in its habitat, and ANF had been doing considerable prescribed burning in recent months and weeks. Of the four Coastal Plain species of Calopogon, this one is unlikely to be found in the wetter, open, pitcher plant habitats. It prefers drier and more shaded habitat, so I looked in such areas that had burned most recently based on minimal amounts of green-up. The place where I found the orchid was showing some green-up of grasses and herbaceous vegetation, but the only plant I saw in flower besides the orchid was Yellow Star Grass, Hypoxis hirsuta. The Grass-pinks were literally occasional rays of pink ‘sunshine’ in an otherwise scorched landscape. Soon though, and throughout this years’ growing season, the burns will be flush with vegetative diversity including myriads of beautiful wildflowers.
Notice how many pine needles had fallen since the fire.