A group of botanists from the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department have confirmed that they’ve recently discovered a population of small orchids that were thought to have been extinct in Vermont since 1902.
Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department Botanist, Bob Popp, shared, “Discovering a viable population of a federally threatened species unknown in our state for over a century is astounding. It’s Vermont’s equivalent of rediscovering the ivory-billed woodpecker.”
Before it was thought to have become extinct, the small whorled pogonia was considered a rare orchid across the globe, although blooming across the eastern US states and in Ontario, Canada. But previous searches for this particular species in Vermont were otherwise unsuccessful, except that now, they have been found to be growing in Winooski Valley Park District conservation land in Chittenden County.
Like almost all orchids, there is still much to learn about these species’ habitat needs and requirements.
Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department Assistant Botanist, Aaron Marcus, explained, “A challenge of locating rare orchid populations for conservation is that so much of where they grow is determined by things we can’t easily see or measure, like networks of fungi in the soil.”
Most populations in New Hampshire and Maine are usually found in partial sun areas, such as forest edges and openings. Ironically, this latest finding was due to wildflower enthusiasts reporting their discovery on an app.
According to Marcus, he shares that the department first heard of this possible small whorled pogonia population in Vermont due to the observation of two community scientists, namely Tom Doubleday of Colchester and John Gange of Shelburne.
“John is a passionate and skilled botanist who specializes in orchids and closely follows the sightings people report on the community science app iNaturalist. John noticed that a birder, retired greenhouse manager Tom Doubleday, had used iNaturalist to ask for help identifying an unfamiliar wildflower last July and reached out to us with the news that the orchid had very likely just been discovered in Vermont,” said Marcus.
After which, Marcus and Popp accompanied Gange and Doubleday to the site where they saw, during the spring, and confirmed that it was indeed a small whorled pogonia, which was thankfully in bloom.
Marcus also disclosed that rare orchids tend to be a higher risk for illegal collection and accidental trampling by passive visitors. So in order to protect the flower’s location from possible troubles, Doubleday removed the public coordinates from his iNaturalist’s post’s privacy settings.
The department also shared that it’s next steps are to work closely with the Winooski Valley Park District to search for the small whorled pogonia on close by conservation land, then monitor it’s population to ensure that this particular species will have the best possible opportunity to thrive and prosper in its native range in Vermont.
Popp said, “We’re incredibly fortunate that this small whorled pogonia population is on land protected by the Winooski Valley Park District. It speaks to the importance of habitat conservation.”
“When we conserve a piece of land, we rarely know all the species that are there, but we do know that conserving intact natural communities yields the best odds for supporting Vermont’s biodiversity, from common species to rare ones,” he added.
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