Epidendrum magnoliae (Green-fly orchid) - Broxton, Georgia

A group of seven of us: Neil, Jen, Alan, Steve, Max, Walter, and I were very fortunate to be able to get into a Nature Conservancy property called Broxton Rocks.

This protected area consists of a large exposure of consolidated sandstone called Altamaha grit. It's fifty or sixty or more feet deep, and is fractured into large fissures and canyons.

This environment hosts many rare plants as well as one particular orchid that is not considered rare, but the fact that it grows on the canyon walls of Altamaha grit is very unusual -- bordering on unique. It usually grows on the limbs and trunks of trees... high up on the trees. Which makes them difficult to photograph. This type of plant is called an epiphyte. When it's found growing on rocks, it's call a lithophyte.

The ones we photographed today were growing at eye level or lower... on the rocks. How cool is that!