The Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that a federally endangered species of orchid has been discovered. It has not been confirmed in Vermont since 1902.
Department botanists confirmed the existence of small whorled pogonia on Winooski Valley Park District conservation property in Chittenden County. Officials won’t reveal the exact location of the orchids to protect them.
Bob Popp, Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department Botanist, said that “discovering a viable species of a federally endangered species in Vermont for more than a century is amazing.”
Small whorled pogonia, a rare orchid that is found only in the eastern United States and Ontario, is now a worldwide rarity. Maine and New Hampshire have populations that can be found in areas with partial sun, such as forest edges or openings.
Previous attempts to find the species in Vermont were unsuccessful.
Aaron Marcus, Assistant Botanist at Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, said that the department was first informed of a small population of whorled pogonias in Vermont by two community scientists: John Gange from Shelburne and Tom Doubleday from Colchester.
Popp, Marcus and Doubleday, along with Gange, returned to the site this spring, and confirmed the existence of small whorled pogonia.
The next steps for the department will be to collaborate with the Winooski Valley Park District in order to find the small whorled pogonias on nearby conservation land. This will also allow the department to monitor the population to ensure that this species thrives in Vermont’s part of its natural range.
