Diversity of Orchids in North America
by Linnea Hanson
Thursday, February 18th, 7:00–8:00 pm
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Why are native orchids so interesting? Native orchids represent the extreme specializations that are possible. They have complex life histories that have highly specialized pollination systems and fungal associations with seed germination which make them particularly vulnerable to environmental changes. More than half are rare and need conservation attention.
Linnea has become more interested in native orchids since her retirement as a botanist for the Plumas National Forest. She presented a talk on Butterfly Valley at the 2013 Native Orchid Conference Symposium that was held in Oroville, CA. Since then she has attended six subsequent Native Orchid Conference Symposia and would like to share some of the knowledge she has obtained about terrestrial native orchids found in North America.
Linnea plans to talk about the distribution of native orchids in North America and their pollination and fungal associations. She will also talk about Native Orchid Conservation organizations. She will introduce you to approximately 40 species of native orchids—including the purple fringeless orchid, Platanthera peramoena shown above—in their habitats in North America.
Bio: Linnea Hanson was hired as a botanist for the Plumas National Forest in 1979 and retired in 2011. In 1991 Linnea received the first National Botanist award and traveled to Washington DC to accept the award from the Chief of the Forest Service. In 2008, she received the first Agency Person of the Year Award from the California Native Plant Society. She is the President of Northern California Botanists, a professional organization for botanists and is a founding board member of the Friends of the Chico State Herbarium. She became interested in native orchids since her retirement and is now on the board of the Native Orchid Conference.