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State-endangered orchid found in reclaimed strip mine lands in Illinois

Illinois DNR Heritage Biologist Steve Tillman illustrates how small and often hidden a specimen can be in its natural habitat. (Photo courtesy of Gretchen Steele)

It was in 2020 when I first heard whisperings of a state-endangered orchid species being found in the Pyramid State Recreation Area near Pinckneyville, Ill.
Typically, I would have dismissed this as next to impossible. I’ve been burning boot leather in the bowels of Pyramid State Recreation Area for so many years, even when it was still being actively mined. Lots of invasive species there, weeds, and few forests. Not an area I would expect to find a rare or endangered plant.

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