Spring Nature Walk, Sunday April 1st 2007

On a beautiful, bright and sunny Sunday morning, ten Peninsula Orchid Society members set out on a spring nature trek, led by fellow member, photographer and naturalist, Ron Parsons. After meeting in Golden Gate Park to car pool, we set off for an area near the summit of Mt. Tamalpais. A short hike down a beautiful trail soon led us into the forest, where we began to see an amazing variety of wildflowers, including violets, baby blue eyes, trillium, Indian warrior and fritillarias. We also saw the amazing foliage of the jewel orchid, Goodyera oblongifolia. The primary objective of the trip was to see the native orchid, Calypso bulbosa var. occidentalis. And we were successful! We were amazed by the beauty of this California native. Thanks to Salma Jetha for organizing the trip, and to Ron Parsons for leading us on this delightful walk.

Photos courtesy of Mary Jensen, Jackie Becker and Eric Hunt.