Every year, the Ecology team monitors the prairie and woodland habitat, identifying all of the plants we can in specific locations. For two years in a row, we have found orchids living in the prairies!

According to Bill Summers’ book Missouri Orchids, there are 34 orchid species native to Missouri. Orchids tend to be fairly sensitive to disturbance, so we are extremely pleased to find them here at LREC. It seems like mother nature is giving us a small nod in recognition of our efforts to bring these habitats back to their natural state.