Photographed this morning at Scuppernong Prairie State Natural Area. This is a stately (almost 3 foot tall), beautiful, but endangered plant. This orchid was native to Midwestern wet prairies, but much of its habitat has been lost to agriculture; it is now estimated that there may be as few as 400 plants remaining in Wisconsin.
Note in the photo not just the delicate petals, but also the 2-inch-long nectar tube descending behind the blossom. Obviously it has coevolved with some pollinator with an impressively long proboscis - probably a moth (the proboscis of sphinx moth can be as long as ten inches!).
The photo enlarges to wallpaper size with a click.
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