A small population of a state-endangered orchid was recently found in Massachusetts for the first time in nearly two decades. Crested fringed orchid was rediscovered in Bristol County by a botanist with the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, according to state officials. The diminutive orchid with striking orange blooms had not been seen in the Bay State since 2001 despite repeated survey efforts by botanists. They had previously only been documented in 1905, 1908, 1987. The newly discovered population of eight plants is said to be the northernmost known crested fringed orchid population in the United States and the only population known in New England. The next closest population is located on Long Island, New York. Due to its rarity, state officials say the location of the plants is not being disclosed. “Although I locate many rare species every year, this find took my breath away,” said Dr. Robert Wernerehl, State Botanist for MassWildlife’s Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program. “Given the condition of the site, and the knowledge that many botanists have searched fruitlessly for this rarity for years, I was not at all expecting to find it. But while forcing my way through dense shrubby thickets laden with poison ivy, I kept reminding myself to move slowly and keep looking. Glancing down, a bright orange spot in the tangle of branches caught my eye, and as I bent over the plant, I knew immediately I had found it, but thought, can this really be happening?” The crested fringed orchid begin blooming in August and their orange blooms can reach up to five inches in length. They are usually found growing in the moist acidic soil of bogs, wet meadows, swamps, and depressions in pinelands habitats.

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