GA Native Plant: Cranefly Orchid

Cranefly orchid. Easy to identify in winter because it’s one of the few green leaves in the forest. Underside of the leaf is a bright purple.

Cranefly Orchid (Tipularia discolor)

Orchid

Perennial

Found across most of the US, though rare and endangered in some places. The cranefly orchid is not rare or endangered in Georgia.

I’m 99 percent sure I’ve identified the plant correctly from the Georgia Native Plant Society website. If you’re wondering if you’ve got a Cranefly Orchid in your backyard, here’s a video on how to identify it:

These little guys take advantage of the sunlight available in the winter and do most of their photosynthesizing while the rest of the forest is dormant and resting in the winter. The single leaf slowly degrades and disappears until the plant sends up a single flower stalk, usually sometime in the summer or early fall.

The Cranefly Orchid is pollinated by the Armyworm moth, according to the Awesome Native Plants website. Armyworms are terrible pests and can eat through any number of veggie and grain crops. But, if the moths pollinate this native orchid, that does make me hate them a little less.

Cranefly Orchids are difficult to purposefully cultivate, according to the Backyard Ecology website. Seeds are difficult to germinate without specific present fungi. Even transplanting a specimen from one part of the yard to another could fail if the orchid’s favorite fungi aren’t present in the soil.

I’ve seen these leaves in my 2-acre forest for the last few years during the winter and always found them striking. I had no idea they were native orchids! The Cranefly Orchids are most prevalent on the west side of the property. There, winged elms, pines and oaks grow together and are generally smaller and younger than the same trees on the east side of the woods. I’ll be sure to start checking for the flower stalks in high summer this year.