Flowers

Orchids in Summit County There are fourteen orchids listed below, of which I have seen 13. I have seen all of these within a couple miles of my house in Mesa Cortina, except Ladies tresses (seen in Corral Creek and Copper Mountain), Huron green orchid, and the Northern twayblade. I did not see the Northern bog orchid, the Huron green orchid, the Northern twayblade, or the purple-petal bog orchid until 2026.

Fairy slippers (Calypso bulbosa, common, beautiful, purplish pink; white variants are common)
Bog orchid (Platanthera dilatata, common, white, large)
Green bog orchid (Platanthera aquilonis ,common, large, leaves go up the stalk)
Early coralroot (Corallorhiza trifida, uncommon)
Spotted coralroot (Corallorhiza maculata, common)
Rattlesnake plantain (Goodyera oblongifolia, common, distinctive leaves, white flowers)
Clustered lady slippers (Cypripedium fasciculatum, uncommon)
Ladies tresses (Spiranthes romanzoffiana, white, uncommon)
Heartleaf twayblade (Listera cordata, two leaves at base, opposite each other, very small, very common)
Northern bog orchid (Platanthera obtusata, blunt-leaved orchid, single leaf at base, uncommon, small)

Northern twayblade, rare (Neottia borealis, formerly Listera borealis); seen east of Eisenhower Tunnel, so not in Summit County, but close. Fewer than 60 have been documented in Colorado.

Huron green orchid (Platanthera huronensis, seen near the Corral Creek pullout on I-70 at 10400 feet; July 19, 2026; common)

Purple-petal orchid (uncommon, Platanthera purpurascens); seen within three miles of Frisco, July 22, 2026; also on Mesa Cortina trail).

NOT YET SEEN: Slender-spire orchid (uncommon, Piperia unalascensis)

Finding white specimens of colorful flowers is fun. I have found such for: wallflowers, elephant heads, Parry’s gentian, fringed gentian, rock clematis, sky pilot, cut-leaf anemone, harebell, monkey flower, monkshood, forget-me-nots, lupine, larkspur, bluebells, and fairy slippers.