Seen in the woods yesterday. Tipularia discolor (cranefly orchid) is the most common native orchid here, I think. Easily recognizeable in winter by the pleated leaves with purple undersides. The flowers are not at all showy -- see http://www.delawarewildflowers.org/2009.html The Solidago is bluestem goldenrod. (I'm not 100% sure of that ID, but I think it's a safe bet.)
Is it very common there in Texas? I hadn't known until I looked it up just now, but there are just two species of Tipularia, this one and T. japonica.
No, it is not common in NE Texas. The most common orchid here is Spiranthus. In fact I have only found one in this area, and that was over 20 years ago. I couldn't identify it, so I took it to my old retired plant taxonomy professor. He didn't know what it was either, and his health was failing, so he never figured it out. The plant was past blooming, but had seed pods, those very distinct leaves, and root nodules. I decided it must be an orchid, due to the basal sheath, tiny seeds enclosed in a capsule, and by the tubers. I searched through an orchid book and finally found it.
