elias

elias , 3 days ago to wildorchids group

Spiranthes aestivalis, on Tuesday. I never knew I'm just 20 minutes from one of the spots they yet live. Unfortunately lack of wetlands protection likely means they'll go extinct soon, certainly in Austria - pictures on a farmer's meadow with little protection.

#wildorchids @wildorchids #inaturalist #bloomscrolling #wildflower

Spiranthes aestivalis
Spiranthes aestivalis
Spiranthes aestivalis

elias , 6 days ago to wildorchids group

On the weekend, on an orchid hunting trip with a friend, we stopped the car at a random spot along the road in Carinthia. He was better prepared than me and just walked through a stream with rubber boots while I was contemplating if/how to cross, when he called and said I better come see this. A mossy patch, next to a stream, with 150-200 Neottia cordata. Not a species we expected to find at all, but a definite highlight of the trip! (And worth the slight injuries I obtained when jumping across the stream onto slippery rock...)
#wildorchids @wildorchids #inaturalist #bloomscrolling #wildflower

Neottia cordata closeup
Many Neottia cordata plants in front of a stream
A mossy patch with lots and lots of Neottia cordata plants

elias , 13 days ago to wildorchids group

Time of the small green orchids! Herminium monorchis, Liparis loeselii, and Malaxis monophyllos. In addition to being hard to notice all three sadly share habitat loss and are very rare now in Austria.

#wildorchids @wildorchids #inaturalist #wildflower #bloomscrolling

Liparis loeselii, 2 pictures, upper one is closeup
Malaxis monophyllos, 2 pictures, left one is closeup

elias , 20 days ago to wildorchids group

Orchis spitzelii (I want to call it choir orchid!) on Saturday at the only known location in Austria.

#wildorchids #inaturalist #wildflowers @wildorchids

Orchis spitzelii
Orchis spitzelii with mountain backdrop
Orchis spitzelii with mountain backdrop

elias , 1 month ago to wildorchids group

Pink and yellow Dactylorhiza incarnata.
#wildorchids @wildorchids #wildflowers

Yellow Dactylorhiza incarnata.

elias , 1 month ago to wildorchids group

Orchis pyramidalis. The first two pictures are from yesterday, in Germany, close to where I live. The other two pictures are from two months ago, in Crete. I find it interesting how different the same species can look.
#wildorchids #inaturalist #wildflowers @wildorchids

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elias , 1 month ago to wildorchids group

Here's a collage of 40 of the species of orchid we found on Crete during the first week of April, 2024. Almost all of them were new to me. It took me until now to sort through pictures - we found even more species, but some were not in bloom yet and for some our pictures are not good enough to determine species with certainty. But these are the 40 with at least one good enough picture 😀 #inaturalist #wildorchids #wildflowers @wildorchids

elias , 1 month ago to wildorchids group

It's that time of the year again...
#inaturalist #wildflowers #wildorchids @wildorchids

Another orchis mascula next to the road
A third orchis mascula next to the road, with mountains in the background

elias , 2 months ago to wildorchids group

Ophrys incubacea, on April 25th, 2024 in Premantura, Croatia. They look similar to sphegodes but are easily distinguished by the long scruffy hair. Which made me immediately fall in love with them, they looked like they just hatched to me! They also appear rather dark, giving them the German name "Schwarze Ragwurz" or "black bee orchid"!

#inaturalist #wildorchids @wildorchids #wildflowers

A very scruffy/wet little black bee orchid
A rather elegant looking Ophrys incubacea, with a maroon colored coat and fur lining and silvery stripes.
A whole plant picture of Ophrys incubacea.

elias , 2 months ago to wildorchids group

Ophrys bertolinii on April 25th, 2024, on Cape Kamenjak. It's one of my instant favorite ophrys species - somehow these flowers manage to have a small metallic looking shield 😮

#wildorchids @wildorchids #inaturalist #wildflowers

Ophrys bertolinii with a white instead of metallic shield
Another flower closeup
Whole plant picture of Ophrys bertolinii

elias , 2 months ago to wildorchids group

Ophrys heldreichii and Ophrys episcopalis, seen on Crete on April 5th, 2024. Two of my absolute favorites!

#inaturalist #wildorchids #wildflowers @wildorchids #crete

Ophrys episcopalis, it's like the mother superior is all the ophrys, so magnificent and graceful.
Ophrys heldreichii habitat
Ophrys episcopalis habitat

elias , 3 months ago to random

I found this candy lichen (Icmadophila ericetorum) yesterday. I always love finding them, suddenly you get lots of random pink dots when you least expect it 😄
#LichenSubscribe #inaturalist

More candy lichen closeup.
A somewhat zoomed out view of a candy lichen - lots of pink dots!

elias , 3 months ago to random

I noticed someone on inaturalist post a Soldanella montana observation, a flower I did not know, a few days ago - about an hour of driving away. So I did what you do in that case, get in the car after work and drive for an hour. The roads got very narrow way out in the countryside, first through small villages then through farms and finally on a winding forest road. I was stopped by a gate eventually and walked another half hour to reach the spot - and there it really was, a mountain tassel flower in full bloom dazzling me!

#inaturalist #wildflowers

elias , 3 months ago to random

Pulsatilla grandis, the Greater Pasqueflower, seen on a short trip to Vienna.
#wildflowers #inaturalist

Pulsatilla grandis flower in all its glory
Pulsatilla grandis flowers

elias , 3 months ago to random

Plagiopus oederianus or Apple moss, seen on Saturday and a lifer for me. It was very unique looking with all the green balls!
#mosstodon #inaturalist

A clump of moss with lots and lots of green balls