Wintergreen Orchids + Changing Climate
For the online course I'm creating (Native Culinary Herbs for the Home Garden), I'm making a Directory of Native Plant Nurseries & Seed Companies. The directory will indicate which plants from the course each business carries. I recently subscribed to the Dropseed Native Landscapes newsletter--one of the NYS nurseries on my list. I love the plant profiles they share.
Dropseed recently wrote about cranefly orchid (Tipularia discolor) and putty root orchid (Aplectrum hyemale), also known as Adam and Eve orchid. Both are endangered in New York State.
Like spring ephemerals, these species take advantage of the extra sunlight available in winter, when deciduous trees have dropped their leaves. However, spring ephemerals perform a balancing act: "How early can I come out without the snow and cold being counterproductive?"
These orchids go one step further. Each plant produces one leaf in the fall, and they photosynthesize throughout the winter. The leaf dies back in the spring and a single flowering stalk emerges. Then the plants go dormant. While these species are snoozing, other plants are throwing a summer party.
I draw a bit of inspiration from cranefly and putty root orchids. While ephemerals have "found" ways to tiptoe deeper into the challenging winter chill (admirably so), these orchids seem to say, "What do you mean, challenging? We were made for this."
As tough as they are, I wonder how climate irregularities are affecting these orchids.
As little humans, it's so easy to experience weather and climate as random, luck-based occurences. "Wow, 60 degrees and sunny in February. Feels good." "That's a lot of rain." Every day feels like a fresh spin of the Weather Wheel of Fortune.
Gardeners and other plant people are at an advantage when it comes to noticing broader patterns and irregularities. When perennials pop up weeks early, as they have in my garden, one takes notice.
Last year, the USDA updated its agricultural zone map. Gardeners use it to determine which plants are appropriate for their climate. The USDA writes:
Cranefly orchid flowering stalk. Henry Baldwin, 1884. Source.
"When compared to the 2012 map, the 2023 version reveals that about half of the country shifted to the next warmer 'half zone,' and the other half of the country remained in the same half zone. That shift to the next warmer half zone means those areas warmed somewhere in the range of 0-5 degrees Fahrenheit; however, some locations experienced warming in the range of 0-5 degrees Fahrenheit without moving to another half zone" (USDA).
Zones are divided into Zone a and Zone b, with Zone a being the colder one.I'm always delighted to see plants emerge in spring. But when "spring" becomes mid-winter, I'm concerned for our sweet native species and our local farmers.
I'm reminded that climate change doesn't mean "uniformly warmer," but "weird and unpredictable." For fruit farmers, this increases the likelihood of killing frosts on tender buds and flowers. More than ever, I feel the importance of supporting my local growers with my food dollars--a win-win for all.
With Native Culinary Herbs for the Home Garden, I look forward to lending a bit of support for tending our native (and tasty) species. I'm aiming to release this course in late 2024 or 2025. Stay tuned for updates!
Featured Image: Cranefly orchid (Tipularia discolor) illustration. Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. Source.
