While exploring the Corkscrew Swamp in Florida last week I learned about the rare Ghost Orchid and was lucky enough to see one thanks to park naturalists who had discovered one high in a tree and had a telescope pointed for visitors to observe it. There are only 2,000 in the world. The ghost orchid I photographed had just bloomed that day, however, there is a “Super Ghost Orchid” in the swamp that has drawn attention around the world. Unfortunately, that particular orchid did not bloom for the first time this year until just a few days after our visit. You can learn more about that Ghost Orchid at the website below.
https://corkscrew.audubon.org/visit/corkscrews-ghost-orchid
“The ghost orchid is aptly named for a few reasons. Its white flowers have a vaguely spectral appearance, and they seem to hover in the forest due to an illusion created by the leafless plant. This effect also makes the rare orchid even harder to find, especially outside the brief, unpredictable window when it blooms in summer.
Unfortunately, the ghost orchid is also at risk of living up to its name in another way. It’s an endangered species, limited to scattered populations in Cuba, the Bahamas, and Florida, where it exists in just three southwestern counties.
It inhabits remote swamp forests and small wooded islands, yet still faces an array of threats from humans, namely poaching, climate change, loss of pollinators, and loss of habitat.
The species has long enchanted anyone lucky enough to see it, and we’re still learning its secrets—including new research that challenges what we thought we knew about its pollinators.”
Good Morning Gloucester 