Tag Archives: Peter Baye

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Peter Baye wrote, "Here's the underwater fish-eye perspective on the Wigeongrass canopy, reaching up like a vine growing through submerged dead tree branches - which these are, mantled in green filamentous algae."

"The bubbles in the Wigeongrass are pure oxygen produced by the Wigeongrass leaves getting sunlight under water. They can actually saturate the water column with oxygen by day.  May not be pretty to us, but the Gualala Roach and Steelhead juveniles love it!”

It will reach the surface in the lagoon soon. It’s not harmful; it’s beneficial. Watch for it!

Thanks to Peter for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

No wind today. There are some high clouds drifting by, and it's a nice, warm day on the Mendonoma Coast.

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Pyrola aphylla has the common name of Leafless Wintergreen, which really doesn't make sense. It does have very small leaves at the base of its stems. Peter Baye has a beautiful group of them blooming at his place in Annapolis.

Last year I had a group bloom, but this year there are only two very small stalks. I don't know why! But these plants are mycotrophic, which means they have a relationship with fungi, getting nutrients.

These plants are native to California.

Thanks to Peter for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

Sunny and warm, with some strong winds near the ocean this afternoon.

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Calypso Orchids are having a wonderful bloom this winter/spring. Peter Baye photographed this normal-colored Calypso Orchid.

And then he found this atypically-colored Calypso Orchid.

I've never seen one like the one here! In a recent Mendonoma Sightings column, I wrote - with Peter's great help - about why you should never pick one:

Please don’t pick native wildflowers. Let’s take the Calypso Orchid, for example. Such beautiful flowers to find in undisturbed forests. The slim stem is only three to four inches high, the pink flower is exquisite but quite small, and a single leaf rests on the forest duff. These native orchids need a fungus in the soil to thrive, which makes transplanting them nearly impossible. They are like finding a gift in the forest.

If you pick one or more for your own enjoyment, you might have a day or two before they wither. In the forest, they will bloom for several weeks. It’s what happens after their bloom that is extremely important. I asked Botanist Peter Baye to explain. He wrote, “Each plucked, plundered Calypso Orchid bloom potentially produces a seed capsule with many thousands of viable dust-like seed. Each capsule could spread whole new colonies of this species that is still struggling to recover after over a century of excessive logging and soil disturbance. [Picking them] represents decades and generations of potential Calypso Orchid populations sacrificed for a few days of private ornament and fragrance. Calypso Orchids don't have reproductive success every year. They rely on rare good bloom years like this one, and rare luck of escaping herbivores and flower-pickers.”

Thanks to Peter for allowing me to share his photos with  you here and for explaining why we should never pick one of these exquisite orchids.

Cooler with storm clouds moving in. Rain is in our forecast for Friday night and Saturday. The Calypso Orchids should love it!

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Nancy Feehan was the first to spot a very early Calypso Orchid, Calypso bulbosa, in late January. It was close to Fort Ross School. Recently Julia Larke found her first one in bloom. You can see the single leaf on the forest duff.

Then Peter Baye found a group in the Annapolis area.

These orchids are quite tiny so don't let these photos fool you! Theses flowers are also called Fairy Slippers.

Thanks to Peter and Julia for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

Today, Saturday, was magnificent on the coast. No wind so the ocean was calm, and Gray Whale spouts were seen. Temps in the low 70's - we know it won't last but for now, we are enjoying the sun and the warmth.

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My brother-in-law, Mel Smith, spotted this rare beauty several years ago in Anchor Bay. It was mostly hidden under a huckleberry bush, but Mel has a very good eye! It did not bloom last year but appeared again this year, much to our delight. It is in full flower today. It's about an inch high.

And here are two that are up but not yet opened, growing in sandy soil. They look like little fir cones!

I was able to show these to botanist Peter Baye several years ago. He had never seen them before. He said sightings of these plants on the Mendonoma Coast are rarer than a UFO sighting!

I took these photos.

It was super foggy this morning, but the fog pulled back giving us a mild, beautiful day.