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"How pitiful it was, This thin weak orchid But it has budded!"
By Taigi quoted in "Haiku" by R.H. Blyth (Hokuseido Press)
The deep-pink orchid (Bletilla striata) also occurs in white, and looks wonderful cultivated en masse in damp, semishaded gardens. As they prepare to flower, the slipper-shaped buds fall most elegantly from an upright position on the stem. In wet uplands you may also find a very similar pale-pink orchid, the toki-so. This is named after the almost extinct toki, or Japanese crested ibis, whose under-feathers are delicate pink. These birds also like a boggy spot.
Of course, one must never pick wild orchids, lest they also disappear!
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