The first observations of orchids in the area were in 2020. Now they are becoming more common.
Observation by Susan Tessier:
In July of 2022 I noticed a huge increase in the orchids in the Schaeffer Creek area near Kotzebue. The first time I saw these in our area was in 2020. My friend found one plant near Kotzebue.
Comment from Gino Graziano:
This looks like an orchid in the genus Cypripedium. When reading about these they develop slowly and may need several years to noticeably grow above ground. That might explain why you first saw them in 2020 and now are seeing an increase a couple years later. I don't know the exact species. There is a white flowered C. montanum, and a yellow flowered C. parviflorum, and the two can hybridize where their ranges overlap. Though the C. montanum is mostly noted in moist woods, and C. parviflorum is grows on drier substrates. If you see them again next summer get some good pictures of the flowers from a few angles along with the leaves.
Since orchids are long lived, and slow to mature it is best if they are not harvested and collected.
LEO says:
Thank you Susan and Gino for sharing your observations and knowledge. According to the Alaska Natural Heritage Program, the genus Cypripedium includes the white-flowered C. montanum and the yellow-flowered C. parviflorum; they can hybridize where their ranges overlap (Alaska Natural Heritage Program, 2021). See also LEO Network post by Brandi Radigan on the Sparrow's Egg Lady's Slipper Orchid (Cypripedium passerinum) in Glennallen, Alaska. Susan and Brandi's post highlights the variety of habitats (spruce forests, bogs, tundra, and stream banks), where orchids can be found in Alaska.
Reference: Alaska Natural Heritage Program. (2021). Cypripedium. Retrieved from https://aknhp.uaa.alaska.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Cypripedium.pdf
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