After even the most careful botanical survey, the woods reveal new and lovely surprises. Purple-fringed orchid, first observed in the Simes Tract of Harvard Forest in July 2008, was tentatively identified this season as a species never-before recorded at the Harvard Forest: Platanthera grandiflora, the greater purple fringed orchid. While its congener, the lesser purple fringed orchid (Platanthera psycodes) was