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Film: Ghost Orchids of the Florida Everglades


Hillizard

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This is a stunning article (and be sure to watch the embedded film "Chasing Ghosts"from Grizzly Creek Films) chronicling the search to determine the pollinator of the rare ghost orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii) in the Fakahatchee Strand of the Florida Everglades: https://www.biographic.com/posts/sto/ghosts-of-the-everglades  Some of you may know about this orchid from Susan Orlean's book The Orchid Thief or the movie "Adaptation" starring Nicholas Cage in dual roles. :winkie:

GhostOrchid.png

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  • 4 weeks later...

I did so well with this species for a good 6 months hanging near the bottom of a large glass cylinder mounted to a slab of hickory bark and watered with a mix of Fiji water and Icelandic water for the natural dissolved minerals.  Then I went on a trip and something happened and it croaked.  Will try again someday.

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2 hours ago, palmsOrl said:

I did so well with this species for a good 6 months hanging near the bottom of a large glass cylinder mounted to a slab of hickory bark and watered with a mix of Fiji water and Icelandic water for the natural dissolved minerals.  Then I went on a trip and something happened and it croaked.  Will try again someday.

palmsOrl: Glad to learn of your efforts. If/when you do try again someday with this orchid species, please share pictures with us! :greenthumb:

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5 hours ago, palmsOrl said:

I did so well with this species for a good 6 months hanging near the bottom of a large glass cylinder mounted to a slab of hickory bark and watered with a mix of Fiji water and Icelandic water for the natural dissolved minerals.  Then I went on a trip and something happened and it croaked.  Will try again someday.

Watched the film, thanks for posting the link Hillizard!

Was it difficult to get the specimen? Did yours flower?

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I read the book.

Meg

Palms of Victory I shall wear

Cape Coral (It's Just Paradise)
Florida
Zone 10A on the Isabelle Canal
Elevation: 15 feet

I'd like to be under the sea in an octopus' garden in the shade.

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4 hours ago, PalmatierMeg said:

I read the book.

I saw the movie, and read the script along with the original New Yorker magazine article that she expanded into her book. IMHO, in any format, it was a great orchid adventure! :winkie:

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Is a Ghost Orchid difficult to obtain commercially? In the wild they are exceedingly rare and protected in Fakahatchee Strand. Poaching seems to be a major problem there.

Meg

Palms of Victory I shall wear

Cape Coral (It's Just Paradise)
Florida
Zone 10A on the Isabelle Canal
Elevation: 15 feet

I'd like to be under the sea in an octopus' garden in the shade.

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6 minutes ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Is a Ghost Orchid difficult to obtain commercially? In the wild they are exceedingly rare and protected in Fakahatchee Strand. Poaching seems to be a major problem there.

Meg: Apparently some commercial growers have it available (that is, when it's not sold out!): https://www.orchidweb.com/orchids/other-orchids/species/dendrophylax-lindenii-the-ghost-orchid

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5 hours ago, Hillizard said:

Meg: Apparently some commercial growers have it available (that is, when it's not sold out!): https://www.orchidweb.com/orchids/other-orchids/species/dendrophylax-lindenii-the-ghost-orchid

Thanks for the info. I wouldn’t presume to attempt to grow such a difficult plant - I’d be crushed if it croaked.

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Meg

Palms of Victory I shall wear

Cape Coral (It's Just Paradise)
Florida
Zone 10A on the Isabelle Canal
Elevation: 15 feet

I'd like to be under the sea in an octopus' garden in the shade.

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1 hour ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Thanks for the info. I wouldn’t presume to attempt to grow such a difficult plant - I’d be crushed if it croaked.

Agree, 

Of all the things i'd wanted to try growing both times living in Fl., this was at the top of my list... until sitting in on a discussion involving acouple expert Orchid growers while attending the Redlands Orchid Festival.  Listening to them talk about growing these, i too decided they are best nixed from pursuing. 

Still determined to find 2 pairs of Cigar / Cow's Horn Orchid, Cyrtopodium punctatum  specimens however. Much easier.. the species even shrugs off our dry heat displayed outside in some shade at the Desert Museum in Tucson. Hope is to obtain both a pair of florida clones and a pair started off plants that were originally collected in Alamos Sonora to gauge any differences that may exist.

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52 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Agree, 

Of all the things i'd wanted to try growing both times living in Fl., this was at the top of my list... until sitting in on a discussion involving acouple expert Orchid growers while attending the Redlands Orchid Festival.  Listening to them talk about growing these, i too decided they are best nixed from pursuing. 

Still determined to find 2 pairs of Cigar / Cow's Horn Orchid, Cyrtopodium punctatum  specimens however. Much easier.. the species even shrugs off our dry heat displayed outside in some shade at the Desert Museum in Tucson. Hope is to obtain both a pair of florida clones and a pair started off plants that were originally collected in Alamos Sonora to gauge any differences that may exist.

Great looking orchid! Someone on eBay is selling seeds of this species (if you're into orchid seed culture) and TopTropicals is currently out of stock. Guess the search continues... :bummed:

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26 minutes ago, Hillizard said:

Great looking orchid! Someone on eBay is selling seeds of this species (if you're into orchid seed culture) and TopTropicals is currently out of stock. Guess the search continues... :bummed:

The species has appeared on ebay twice, .someone in Oaklahoma was seling offsets i guess, and established offsets showed up at a plant sale in Tucson awhile back. I was $95 dollars short budget-wise that day otherwise a pair ( from plants originally collected in Alamos Sonora ) would've been crossed off my list.  Will be contacting some other potential  sources for these later. Some other species in the Genus i want to find also.  

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