48 PICTURING MIRACLES 



soms are not as large nor the petals as sharply 

 pointed. They are more delicate in color and the 

 plant not growing so tall is less noticeably inter- 

 esting. 



The Stream Orchid. Most of our wild orchids are 

 now so rare in California it is quite an event to find 

 a colony of them. They used to grow quite plenti- 

 fully near the foot of Yosemite Falls, almost in the 

 spray. Now I know of only one place to find the 

 delicate greenish blossoms so beautifully touched 

 with pink and orange. You are fortunate indeed, if 

 after diligent seeking, you find a colony growing on 

 a river's bank, their thin graceful stalks arched over 

 the stream. These flower buds in the laboratory re- 

 quire four or five days for full blossoming. The 

 Phantom Orchis, growing in the dense timber at 

 about 7,000 feet, is another rare one. I have seen the 

 ghostlike plant but once in my many years of tramp- 

 ing through the Sierras. This plant, six or eight 

 inches high, was pure spectral white, something like 

 the Indian Pipe. It is a saprophyte, living on decay- 

 ing vegetation in the dark forest. 



I will never forget the first Lady Slipper Orchids 

 I found in Yosemite only a few steps off the beaten 

 path on a hillside of wet red soil, streams of water 

 oozing from the melting snow, a dozen or so in an 

 area of not more than 20 feet. After looking at all of 



