Orchidaceae

On the recent hiking trip in the mountains of West Virginia we were on a focused walk to the end of a short trail that would bring us to a rock outcropping providing a view of one of the valleys in Pocahontas County, the valley where Pearl S. Buck's birth home now stands. We almost missed the wild orchid in the photo below. It which was just to the side of the path and we could have raced by missing it in our determination to reach our destination. Wild orchids are rare in this area and struggle with habitat destruction as they are not the dominant plant in any area.

I tried hard to identify this one, and while I think I was close, my botanical knowledge (or lack thereof) has taught me that I should not try to identify either orchids or mushrooms! Any experts in this area are free to chime in.

These same orchids were growing throughout the woods near the trail, but only one was blooming. What a rare find! The (second orchid) blossom below was found in the sunnier area of the Cranberry Glades which is the largest bog area in West Virginia and a rare ecosystem giving us a little bit of Canada close to where I live. I think it is also an orchid, perhaps the "common" grass pink orchid. Certainly not common in my experience.