tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31340836394204312982024-02-06T20:55:51.723-05:00The Florida Native Orchid BlogThe hunt to photograph Florida's native orchids and incidental related things.<br>
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<a href="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/natives_gallery/index.htm"><img src="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/graphics/gallery_banner.jpg"></a>Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09720547317948102261noreply@blogger.comBlogger135125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134083639420431298.post-59981244465944714862018-03-18T17:01:00.003-04:002018-03-19T15:51:12.277-04:00A Year Ago Today: Giant Cigar Orchid with the Milky Way<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A year ago, on this date, I set off with three of my children, Emily, Isaac, and Kenny to attempt an ambitious undertaking deep in the Everglades. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMEvirr8Nr1LF3aRJx8wIy_oqOOSBW-5YNpBFhyphenhyphenu25MHx5vz3GxulNGrDAKRuhesl4xoTnuIQdLuCztyyqg-IJKWb_ONUB80kCKMiDXOjZP11Al9yVBwG30bsDmirarLSm3xRGu6sdiXMU/s1600/selfie01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMEvirr8Nr1LF3aRJx8wIy_oqOOSBW-5YNpBFhyphenhyphenu25MHx5vz3GxulNGrDAKRuhesl4xoTnuIQdLuCztyyqg-IJKWb_ONUB80kCKMiDXOjZP11Al9yVBwG30bsDmirarLSm3xRGu6sdiXMU/s640/selfie01.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left to Right: Emily, Kenny, Isaac, and myself.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Earlier that week, the news came in from other nature photographers that the Giant Cigar Orchid deep in the Everlgades was in full, spectacular bloom again--a little early this particular year. I had visited this magnificent specimen with several of my children on quite a few occasions (almost yearly since we were made aware of it). </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRUe59uAJzTAegq7P7fl1oF_gjuQmpC2yMQR8py_zrl2uQOWyXNBj0LKTVHoxZbMaY7BtnSrX2i2Pk_ASClTSTj7gXhKIt6ujI4v51luerXmATxUf5LN2RYMy8PbbS1PlQrQI-w6umNFG6/s1600/girls_and_orchid_cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="968" data-original-width="1600" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRUe59uAJzTAegq7P7fl1oF_gjuQmpC2yMQR8py_zrl2uQOWyXNBj0LKTVHoxZbMaY7BtnSrX2i2Pk_ASClTSTj7gXhKIt6ujI4v51luerXmATxUf5LN2RYMy8PbbS1PlQrQI-w6umNFG6/s640/girls_and_orchid_cropped.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daughters Sarah (left) and Hannah (Right) showing the scale of this monstrous plant.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It has been photographed many times by many people, and one particularly intriguing photo was taken by one <a href="http://www.stephenshelleyphotography.com/photoblog/tag/cigar-orchid/" target="_blank">Stephen Shelley in 2015</a> with the Milky Way behind it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was my ambition to duplicate his photograph. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I had discussed this possibility with my wife, Joy, and she admitted that while Mr. Shelley's photograph was stunning, the thought of going out into the wild at night seemed just this side of completely nuts. The 2016 blooming of this orchid came and went, with kids very busy with their college studies, and I was not able to catch up with this orchid at all that particular year, day or night.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, with the 2017 blooming underway, Joy and I discussed this idea again. I made the argument to her that this orchid, blooming in the middle of a salt marsh attached to a dead buttonwood tree stump, might not always be there...a good, strong storm or just the process of decay could cause the stump to break and plunge the orchid into the salt marsh below. We could never be certain when its last blooming ever might be.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This argument was persuasive enough, and she was fully on board, if still a bit nervous about the trip--I did assure her that most larger fauna tended to avoid this area. The process of preparing for this trip was time-consuming and expensive. We decided to take as many of my teenagers as possible, which required purchasing food, water, mosquito-mesh clothing, flashlights, bug repellent, some camping chairs to sit through the night...the list was extensive. One thing that Joy thoughtfully purchased for us was a lightweight, easy-set-up tent for 4 that could give us some shelter from the mosquitoes for awhile.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The mosquitoes at this part of the park are usually not very plentiful in spring, but this year, they came early. Later in the summer is usually when they become plentiful--maddeningly fast, small and abundant--the salt marsh mosquitoes there are the stuff of legend. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Looking at the weather and tracking the stars in my phone app, it seemed that Saturday, March 18 was the best day to drive down, staying through the next Sunday morning. I did have one grave concern: the moon would be around half full and centered in a portion of the galaxy, presenting a risk of washing out everything but the brightest of stars. The brightest part of the galaxy would be up around 5 am </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">With the car packed to the brim with gear of all kinds, we set off with the goal of reaching the Cigar Orchid an hour or two before sunset. We arrived at the park entrance in the early afternoon.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWtfBCLTxk5J9Ej1RDtfGssa42J1LYt7Vp9h5eVR1eRamAbTlSklKJamZ5sTOIy4YWvW9CZ8jTWoFiHdzZtxiATxDTT3QwZ6os_RGfvWZxy7i82AkRZw7CJwLPGbQMHyWX1LZbhwJBNjsz/s1600/selfie02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWtfBCLTxk5J9Ej1RDtfGssa42J1LYt7Vp9h5eVR1eRamAbTlSklKJamZ5sTOIy4YWvW9CZ8jTWoFiHdzZtxiATxDTT3QwZ6os_RGfvWZxy7i82AkRZw7CJwLPGbQMHyWX1LZbhwJBNjsz/s640/selfie02.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the park entrance.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It then involved a drive to the other end of the park, parking, suiting up in our mosquito gear, and then hiking to where the orchid flowered. Upon arrival at the other end of the park, we immediately regretted not already having donned our mosquito gear. Each of us easily endured dozens of bites before we managed to get suited up. Even fully suited, the mosquitoes managed to find parts where the cloth came close to our skin, biting us mercilessly on our hike out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We arrived at the Cigar Orchid just in time to set up before sunset. Another individual was there from Fairchild Gardens--he was hoping to get some star trail photographs later that night, but the half-clouded sky caused him to leave to return some other day. This same sky made for some very dramatic sunset shots.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8wVPbt7DNVlGibjl_e-nt6HWE1cBDmRm3eiSKUKAFbqmTM2UPr0DpOYjjlSadp156qzZybJm5LAyP_N_eY62jkdPw6vrC9Mln-jTqCHsnM5Vf48dxkqEehYgO7ZycE5J4Dq12xsyJIpUq/s1600/cowhorn_sunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="900" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8wVPbt7DNVlGibjl_e-nt6HWE1cBDmRm3eiSKUKAFbqmTM2UPr0DpOYjjlSadp156qzZybJm5LAyP_N_eY62jkdPw6vrC9Mln-jTqCHsnM5Vf48dxkqEehYgO7ZycE5J4Dq12xsyJIpUq/s640/cowhorn_sunset.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cigar Orchid at Sunset.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once the sun was fully set, we opened up our camping chairs, lit an Off brand citronella candle in a metal bucket (which proved entirely useless in repelling mosquitoes) and settled in for the long wait until galaxy rise early the next morning.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi72DfNGoHuIK4zgjhLz6vw3CBwfLvlV0wPiZ7cgHkvO4US3J6NO1y-rVzYkP7oNXaa1mZUlMT4tvTqYOCLtSr8x4ivMNBB4Jmz10tLtakdm5bTxpOWh1Q26n8G_TFDy-OFjKYCrcLiiscO/s1600/camping.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="993" data-original-width="1500" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi72DfNGoHuIK4zgjhLz6vw3CBwfLvlV0wPiZ7cgHkvO4US3J6NO1y-rVzYkP7oNXaa1mZUlMT4tvTqYOCLtSr8x4ivMNBB4Jmz10tLtakdm5bTxpOWh1Q26n8G_TFDy-OFjKYCrcLiiscO/s640/camping.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sitting in our chairs, illuminated by candlelight.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As the night progressed, I set up the camera and fired a few test shots. The clouds were still lingering, causing me a bit of consternation. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After a while, the mosquitoes became even more maddening and we decided to use the pop-up tent as a mosquito shelter. So, we put out the candle and set it up, leaving off the top rain flap so we could have a clear view of the sky through the mesh. We could also see the massive Cigar Orchid just outside through the mesh as well, our constant companion through the night. "Hello, you big, beautiful orchid!" escape my lips more than once as I shone my flashlight through the mesh and illuminated its cloud of saffron and crimson flowers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Eventually the clouds cleared, revealing one of the most beautiful dark, starlit skies through the top mesh of our tent. Little did we know, but the Anthelion meteor shower was at maximum, giving us quite a show as each of us spotted at least nine or 10 meteors over the course of the next few hours through the top mesh of our tent.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The tent certainly provided welcome relief from the mosquitoes. We hunted down any strays that had gotten in and settled in for the few hours until picture time. Many cell phone alarms were set for around 4:30 AM just in case we dozed off. It was not necessary--I took several light catnaps, noticing that the half moon was starting to shine into our tent. I was vigilant to any noise on that calm night, although large mammals and crocodilians don't really venture into this area much. We heard a few stirrings in the night, but nothing came near our tent. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4:30 AM came to a chorus of alarms. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The morning had become quite cold, with temperatures in the 50s Fahrenheit. </span>I went out to check on the camera, which had become bedewed in the cold morning air. I wiped it down and fired a few test shots and made some adjustments. A few more shots and I realized that these pictures were going to be quite special--the moon was not entirely washing out the galaxy, but providing enough illumination for the scene without the need to try any "light painting". I recomposed the shot vertically to include the half moon, the galaxy, and the orchid illuminated only by moonlight.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here are some of the raw images from that night.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikTgpFUkUcj_0jc0Gsl0YvfEb3KPiA_RO10kBduXe6SIQ5D7BUwcLHdsz2gaze8NwQDdAuDct6hzkk39HUd7UnOCiwShVu6HpQaNQYpn6GRxMPjmDFree8LpKfyc7K7uz_9BpkmeOzVHLh/s1600/raw01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikTgpFUkUcj_0jc0Gsl0YvfEb3KPiA_RO10kBduXe6SIQ5D7BUwcLHdsz2gaze8NwQDdAuDct6hzkk39HUd7UnOCiwShVu6HpQaNQYpn6GRxMPjmDFree8LpKfyc7K7uz_9BpkmeOzVHLh/s640/raw01.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">15 second exposure.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzFNsfyuR3T1gzexdxNxz95WKy1dh3RYJtXVMGa8MP0o7jHs7-RotNyj5bXPzQ4QGrDTvYKky5FymQdB2zWuOOdibRIHNj0U-CU905UvrZD1RF1YiqPN0_KOp8KKkUg-PziG5kv7FBHKfm/s1600/raw02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzFNsfyuR3T1gzexdxNxz95WKy1dh3RYJtXVMGa8MP0o7jHs7-RotNyj5bXPzQ4QGrDTvYKky5FymQdB2zWuOOdibRIHNj0U-CU905UvrZD1RF1YiqPN0_KOp8KKkUg-PziG5kv7FBHKfm/s640/raw02.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">30 second exposure.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The result, when several shots of different exposures were combined together was nothing short of magical...a seemingly otherworldly scene, but entirely of this earth. In this scene, the orchid is only about fifteen feet away, the treeline another 300 feet away, the moon some 250,000 miles away, and the stars making up the Milky Way--dozens to thousands of light years away:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6-yjq4Q3LB3Tw30zRD8LDvW7Ub73W-OBoE0JKN-TWh1Ilk9y-2hA1zEjdoHyGam7HDQ0rX1QQI8ZuaTLpUqgiyMIN7ysP8V4NngIX67kdOlzkyXbCaOemfKwSHEYJhugIPwg0WbLwez0l/s1600/cowhorn_galaxy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6-yjq4Q3LB3Tw30zRD8LDvW7Ub73W-OBoE0JKN-TWh1Ilk9y-2hA1zEjdoHyGam7HDQ0rX1QQI8ZuaTLpUqgiyMIN7ysP8V4NngIX67kdOlzkyXbCaOemfKwSHEYJhugIPwg0WbLwez0l/s640/cowhorn_galaxy.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cigar Orchid by Moon (and Galaxy) light.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Inspired by our ethereal companion from earlier, I decided to set up the camera on the opposite side of the plant and try to get some star trails. Thankfully, my camera had the ability to work with a remote app on my phone via wi-fi, so with my hand bundled well in mosquito mesh, I held the bulb button down on my phone for 15 minutes at a time. We did this until dawn, capturing a few more magical photographs:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLwZd9EpoDb0fZpptiWvVXUuVjncoD_dfscFAHt33Ei9HOUQ48LCWk8YSb1zo5B9SBbbEea7J1ajzGRuxhifsZWCuvoLOKXeV7Txgfbggtn9a4tglpBCZ8rHFxxq396Qx3XdBeZUAUu8KQ/s1600/cowhorn_star_trails.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLwZd9EpoDb0fZpptiWvVXUuVjncoD_dfscFAHt33Ei9HOUQ48LCWk8YSb1zo5B9SBbbEea7J1ajzGRuxhifsZWCuvoLOKXeV7Txgfbggtn9a4tglpBCZ8rHFxxq396Qx3XdBeZUAUu8KQ/s640/cowhorn_star_trails.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cigar Orchid with star trails.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As dawn approached, we packed up all of our supplies and started to make our way back, first illuminated by flashlight, but by increasing daylight as we approached the edge of the marsh and our parked car. We piled in and slaughtered any stray mosquitoes that made it into the car as we made our way home.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These photographs have indeed proven to be something special, winning several photography contests over the past year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sadly, Hurricane Irma felled this orchid, plunging most of it into the flooded salt marsh below. A naturalist managed to rescue a few living pieces of it, transplanting those into living trees in the hammock nearby, where, hopefully, they will take root and live on. This, magnificent specimen in all its glory in the middle of an open marsh, however, is now lost to the ravages of nature and time. I never realized how prophetic my argument would be that this orchid might not always be with us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yet, we will always remember it, and that day, one year ago, when we set out on one of the most ambitious photography excursions of our lives.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Prints of these award-winning photographs are available in a variety of formats, from matted photos at $15 to $25 per print to gallery-wrapped canvases at $60 per print to prints on metal (inquire about metal print pricing). You should see the galaxy image on metal hanging in our home - it is truly stunning. Contact me at <a href="mailto:floridanativeorchids@gmail.com">floridanativeorchids@gmail.com</a> to inquire about ordering prints. Proceeds from these sales help support the Florida Native Orchids web site and fund more photography excursions such as this one.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">See more photos of this species here:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/natives_gallery/cyrtopodium_punctatum.htm">http://www.flnativeorchids.com/natives_gallery/cyrtopodium_punctatum.htm</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09720547317948102261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134083639420431298.post-78119606520464638122016-01-25T19:00:00.000-05:002016-01-26T09:53:17.527-05:00The Ghost Orchid's Islander Cousin<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The genus <i>Dendrophylax</i>, which includes the Florida Ghost Orchid (<i>Dendrophylax lindenii</i>), is rather widespread throughout the Caribbean. One easier-to-grow, but slightly less impressive, plant in this genus is <i>Dendrophylax funalis</i>, hailing from Jamaica. The plants consist of a rather conspicuous, leafless growing stem with a number of gray-green roots which radiate out from this stem. Flowering stems also emerge from this growing stem, typically in the winter into spring.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The flowers bear some similarity to their Floridian cousin, lacking the long tails on the lip, bearing a shorter spur, and having medium-green tepals. Flower size is slightly smaller as well. <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, </span>just like <i>D. lindenii</i>, these flowers are fragrant at night, having a fragrance somewhat <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">a mix of</span> freshly sliced apples and fresh mushrooms.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This species is more forgiving tha<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">n</span> other members of its genus, requiring culture similar to that of many Vanda orchids - moderate water, occasional fertilizer, and medium-bright light. It is also more available in cultivation than <i>D. lindenii</i>, so it is a good way to get one's feet wet in leafless orchid culture before trying the harder-to-grow Floridian species.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here is a photo of a recent flower on my cultivated <i>D<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">endrophylax</span> funalis</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">:</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTZia9HmwAi7Hs3-M2vGVsi9KERc29DIwduq8kiAlM06qpYRAB1AbFWD4KVIruwn_pVp4o16qV_Qg-jOL6IQWXBJpRH0rc4hmVIaIzZzbrTy9rOKXM2Fmt_otNsOSIlV_ufa3jLXvImyWv/s1600/d_funalis_final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Dendrophylax funalis" border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTZia9HmwAi7Hs3-M2vGVsi9KERc29DIwduq8kiAlM06qpYRAB1AbFWD4KVIruwn_pVp4o16qV_Qg-jOL6IQWXBJpRH0rc4hmVIaIzZzbrTy9rOKXM2Fmt_otNsOSIlV_ufa3jLXvImyWv/s640/d_funalis_final.jpg" title="Dendrophylax funalis" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09720547317948102261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134083639420431298.post-36456851321687717812015-12-15T13:38:00.001-05:002015-12-15T13:38:22.377-05:00Helping Victims of Sex Trafficking: The Porch Light and the #ShineALight Challenge<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One cause that our family has become keenly aware of, and far more concerning than the loss of our natural ecosystems harboring native plants and animals, is the issue of human trafficking. Before not too long ago, we were not aware how prevalent this issue is, especially in central and southern Florida, which are major hubs for human trafficking, specifically sex trafficking. This is not a problem that occurs in faraway places like Thailand and Guyana, but one that occurs here in the United States. According to <a href="http://www.humantrafficking.org/countries/united_states_of_america">HumanTrafficking.org</a>, <i>"It is estimated that 14,500 to 17,500 people, primarily women and children, are trafficked to the U.S. annually."</i> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://theporchlight.org/" style="text-decoration: underline;">The Porch Light (click to visit their website)</a> is a ministry founded by the Florida Baptist Children's Homes to provide a safe haven for child victims of domestic sex trafficking here in central Florida. Quoting from their website:</span><br />
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Even at this moment, there is a young girl falling victim to the dark world of sex trade.<br />
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A predator is gaining her trust, maybe a “friend” she met online. Every year, there are as many as 300,000 children like her in the U.S. who are at risk of being sexually exploited. Many of these girls are being prostituted and face the threat of rape, STDs and even death. The Porch Light is helping these girls begin a new life. We are also working to prevent more innocent children from becoming victims while predators financially profit.<br />
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It’s simple, really. Our light will shine until every young girl who has been victimized by sex trafficking is rescued, restored and set free. Similar to parents who leave the porch light on waiting for their daughter to return, our faith-based program symbolizes the love of Christ – a light that shines so bright and a love and peace that transforms lives.<br />
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Now, lives are changing because of The Porch Light. Girls stay in the safe home for 9-12 months, depending on individual and specific needs. The safe home is at an undisclosed location for the protection and security of the victims and is staffed by a director, mental health counselor and female caregivers. Each girl has her own bedroom and bathroom within a residential suite.<br />
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In addition to providing necessary care to victims, The Porch Light also includes sex trafficking prevention and advocacy efforts. The Porch Light representatives partner with law enforcement to educate in schools, churches and community groups to prevent more girls from becoming victims of the growing sex trade.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was made aware of The Porch Light by a post that former FSU (my alma mater) head coach Bobby Bowden had posted to Facebook, asking folks to consider donating to this worthy cause. I had noticed listed on their web site that one of the practical needs of the girls was nicely furnished rooms, including wall decor.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifAM-d0vnd5vF_4ifmb5jkFbffOKmZrZcTDNrf7upIVvMEKww9vpEsZanZbFA7do3Y3y_JJucInLEYop1ZJEGLNvj23rjPdBQcrkoX1pFPaOspRqNmQn803zZ5tn5RRLj7WJmMOqZcYbEy/s1600/canvases.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifAM-d0vnd5vF_4ifmb5jkFbffOKmZrZcTDNrf7upIVvMEKww9vpEsZanZbFA7do3Y3y_JJucInLEYop1ZJEGLNvj23rjPdBQcrkoX1pFPaOspRqNmQn803zZ5tn5RRLj7WJmMOqZcYbEy/s640/canvases.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It just so happened that we had a number of our native orchid canvas prints left over from the last show. My wife, Joy, got in touch with Lynn Barna, administrative assistant at the Porch Light, with the intent to donate these canvases. They were more than grateful to receive our gift--it warms my heart to know that my photos might in some small way make a girl's room feel a little more like home as she recovers from the awful abuse of sexual exploitation.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-HCpJSo8o3tjYp6JwB2xi8OckCci298gPmUsfKauW9eeOSUFB4vkWccHZPQTK5pfBF9ypQwjTc_7Z7w2Xqj0bGNySBycqmwLbWlcVhuktwczIDaNExFEbNtwK8QSOjnOsjLoTstB0tRjB/s1600/porch_light_portrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-HCpJSo8o3tjYp6JwB2xi8OckCci298gPmUsfKauW9eeOSUFB4vkWccHZPQTK5pfBF9ypQwjTc_7Z7w2Xqj0bGNySBycqmwLbWlcVhuktwczIDaNExFEbNtwK8QSOjnOsjLoTstB0tRjB/s640/porch_light_portrait.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lynn Barna, Joy, and myself and one of the canvases we are donating to The Porch Light.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now I would like to challenge you to Shine a Light on the darkness of child sexual exploitation. Follow this link: <a href="https://theporchlight.org/shine-a-light-challenge/" style="text-decoration: underline;">https://theporchlight.org/shine-a-light-challenge</a> and consider how you can give (even a small gift of $5) to the cause of helping young victims of sexual exploitation in their process of recovery.</span>Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09720547317948102261noreply@blogger.com0Lakeland, FL, USA28.0394654 -81.94980420000001727.8152754 -82.272527700000012 28.2636554 -81.627080700000022tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134083639420431298.post-85877701355258119102015-12-08T18:00:00.000-05:002015-12-08T19:18:59.270-05:00Wall Calendars! or Christmas and Other Holiday Gift Ideas Featuring Florida's Orchids - Part 2<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Wall calendars are always a great way to share beautiful photographs of Florida's wild orchids with loved ones. Proceeds go to helping our continued efforts to keep up our educational websites and add additional material, taken from numerous field trips per year to observe and photograph orchids in the wild all over the state of Florida. This effort is entirely funded from our pockets and from proceeds from merchandise sales and speaker fees when giving presentations at orchid societies, etc. Our websites are free to use and continue to be a source of education and advocacy for our native orchids. I regularly receive e-mails from folks who find orchids in the wild and request identification. We also regularly donate photos for use in educational displays, orchid society newsletters, and educational websites.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So far, we have never had any advertising on our blog or website, and that is what we continue to hope to do into the future.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We have four different calendars to choose from this year. Clicking an image below will take you to the on-line store where those calendars are available. Each calendar is $19.99 plus applicable taxes and shipping.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First up, we have our most popular calendar to date, the Florida's Endangered Orchids calendar, featuring 12 photographs of orchids from Florida's endangered orchid list, including the rare, elusive and famous Ghost Orchid.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.cafepress.com/floridasendangeredorchids.1438338023" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHZAxnqEGyh1Bqt3AzfzEKhkj3goZmjkxj36Xyt1RHLvOWyroCxCKnZ1cmNl8BTdRNx8ZnVfYdX0TO78xiXQ8ASnFw9ooChngzDfN_izOyo4SRvCFMlKXGkCK4sNnoSGo6eDCRyNf6L9Zu/s1600/floridas_endangered_orchids_wall_calendar.png" /></a></div><br />
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<a href="http://www.cafepress.com/floridasendangeredorchids.1438338023" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMIxJxE5qeVd7iUaMgS91fBQYN_IYr1Fqc0D2El6kpYd6-dxcWRbKVhoqVJ0anQ2YGEWJoapz2o1i9PA_1Gx4TKxyH-NV9rRzocvzNyStsR0lfo69fsTAoFRddRLVGMbaDMyIGmFhLP50T/s1600/floridas_endangered_orchids_wall_calendar_page.png" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Next, we have our highly prized "Orchids of Peninsular Florida" calendar, featuring native and naturalized species found growing in the central to southern portions of our state.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cafepress.com/wildorchids001.300083522" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO_s28zosUrvzpKKrC4lZ7-cwzotAhi9xcGxWvyeVJ3EVX3uZ5uEImv2b2qpblsSyWXftBtcLQcmvdClfsjMe8grb-IiFV9OVD7-GrHcBA6tfv0oMuaMXpBPl77jUxdVrkb_9owU6fzDfg/s1600/wall_calendar_orchids_of_pensinsular_florida.png" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cafepress.com/wildorchids001.300083522" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoZBKruAAysp4sQjt1kAp8wUF2225x-UOnJRPCejAZWBDjU_resVCNDoXPuaPZR0M921Ha_TKqND-OrHXgwXGnYr6Ry_0pgSeXyL5U2yFkZl76y13lVyqfG5BlMQXjatPj1U0jZV1nXvd0/s1600/wall_calendar_orchids_of_pensinsular_florida_page.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Next, we have our original and very popular calendar, updated for 2016 - Florida's Native Orchids, featuring many orchids photographed in northern Florida.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.cafepress.com/nativeorchids01.14115600" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb6fWst0LPzxJawAlugUjwHGyyYaLirFL9j5gyinPQTrg_w-CMF1uqMMCWp6lBV1G8iXAP1FiRv2YWHQP3wptuO4G0Ppx4-ULO5d912_rWzskLn9CVcG7yzhuOin0Si5va4I2YBx5kRJ0J/s1600/orchid_calendar_floridas_native_orchids.png" /></a></div><br/ >
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cafepress.com/nativeorchids01.14115600" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ8S09ZKdxRhHdPttfE0k41wNqk9d4VyNlIrxVFyDDIl4gkb_3lqQ5xK9UZX-apjDlt71WgjupPDdrz3N-d10emBjr3iKKh_NFAPOKE5t3dEarnFldb0SDSyKb_dJ2QltJc-k-78Pm-SLb/s1600/orchid_calendar_floridas_native_orchids_calendar_page+copy.png" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finally, we have our second ever calendar release, Florida's Wild Orchids, also updated for 2016. This calendar features twelve new photos of orchid species ranging throughout the state, including one naturalized species, the Soldier or Lawn Orchid.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cafepress.com/wildorchids002.91387714" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNeZlkU7Qew26mSbpEho9odEjBW5qgLynUk-1Oi3BwgUou6CS1sv5FP5qM96E8eIJ6hdtmelVmcP3a1tsc25mIPk1gH8MGwe8tldcVUiSZr1W2XOUycegseKhfVWCj-w9Rkxz04lEqWkrZ/s1600/florida_wild_orchids_calendar.png" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cafepress.com/wildorchids002.91387714" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcfxBp5Hbvw-UimzXQZVxT-zfJWPHIz-nrZ1ViqtVqc4Dwdqgw8A_EJtWTsSPlDowRI9NNBhQOGIllAkB7Ox_WhX-Vq3P9AJvoEQN50mgx7_7l3-oKP7ms9_MsGD-k8ETn07X_mgOiEeB8/s1600/florida_wild_orchids_calendar_page.png" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We wish you a joyous Advent season from Florida's Native and Naturalized Orchids.</span><br />
Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09720547317948102261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134083639420431298.post-41642478024474018492015-11-17T12:25:00.000-05:002015-12-08T13:09:23.416-05:00Christmas and Other Holiday Gift Ideas Featuring Florida's Orchids - Part 1<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Holiday season is upon us, and while you could purchase all sorts of things for your loved ones from <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/thetiechest/fun-christmas-ties-and-more/" target="_blank">Ugly Christmas Ties</a> to a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/07/weird-christmas-gift-guide_n_4326781.html" target="_blank">Shark Laser Pointer</a>, you can better show your loved ones you care about them (and the environment) by purchasing products featuring Florida's lovely native orchids. Proceeds from the sale of these products go toward orchid and native plant conservation efforts, as well as upkeep on our myriad websites educating folks on our natural treasures here in Florida.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These products are assembled here in America through our product distributor, Cafe Press.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, for the next few posts over the next few days, we will be featuring gift ideas that we have put together featuring my award-winning photography of Florida's native and naturalized orchids.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First up, we have a number of products that we have commissioned featuring Florida's iconic orchid, the Butterfly Orchid (<i>Encyclia tampensis</i>). It is one of the most commonly seen orchids from central to southern Florida, growing happily on various hardwoods, conifers, and even the occasional palm tree.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Click on the picture below to visit our Cafe Press shop featuring all sorts of products (t-shirts, pajamas, sweatshirts, hoodies, calendars, bump<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">er stickers, </span>gift cards, etc) graced with one of our most lovely orchid species:</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.cafepress.com/nativeorchids01" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_PLYLxjLQM3u0jw8iICZ7sKto4IcBrI6EPILtZTCPj77o2s7fhWKFEhTGtSVF71T6m_eOxHQf-ctrS6jqxxj9oPPoAIvtXtnPEKnSaq4UJlM6glpSzLz7TQF4scoKJkTeOTkxmQVXDNp5/s1600/florida_butterfly_orchid_sweatshirt_dark.jpg" /></a>Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09720547317948102261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134083639420431298.post-6016615197449856882015-11-11T14:11:00.002-05:002015-11-11T14:11:52.555-05:00A Compendium of American Orchids<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">FTD has put together an awesome graphic showing a number of orchid genera and how they are related to each other. As you may know, the Orchid Family (Orchidaceae) is the largest plant family, consisting of some 25,000 different species. The orchids are also incredibly diverse in size, shape, color, etc., with flowers ranging from microscopic to the size of dinner plates.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Within this very large group of plants, we find a number of Subfamilies, Tribes and Subtribes, that link together plants with similar characteristics--both plant and flower structure. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This can be quite confusing to many, so the graphic FTD has produced really helps to visualized the linkages between these different types of orchids. Here it is, in all its glory:</span><br />
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<b>Produced by <a href="https://www.ftd.com/blog/share/types-of-orchids">FTD.com.</a></b></div>
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<a href="https://www.ftd.com/blog/share/types-of-orchids"><img alt="A Compendium of American Orchids" src="https://www.ftd.com/blog/content/uploads/2015/10/compendium_orchids.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Be sure to click on the image to visit the FTD blog site.</span>
Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09720547317948102261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134083639420431298.post-42824013455918221502015-10-10T20:04:00.000-04:002015-10-10T23:31:13.399-04:00Winners of the 2015 Florida Wildflower Photography Contest Announced<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The winners of this year's Florida Wildflower Photography Contest have been announced, and one of my photos took Honorable Mention (effectively third place). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is my award-winning photo:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHEkcXc2nw8HRIdZm6csfhN4-AaWqnId4-xYPHaYR1OtLrEPUlt7ybGdowKKiJedMTyp47o0LdH_tgCcSQt8OPkQWNfYhSxKxaZmVypWCiHGqCINZ1u8ow9vWAErg-i2Bs5b32eazUkOkj/s1600/white_fringed_winner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHEkcXc2nw8HRIdZm6csfhN4-AaWqnId4-xYPHaYR1OtLrEPUlt7ybGdowKKiJedMTyp47o0LdH_tgCcSQt8OPkQWNfYhSxKxaZmVypWCiHGqCINZ1u8ow9vWAErg-i2Bs5b32eazUkOkj/s640/white_fringed_winner.jpg" width="502" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thank you to everyone for voting for this photo during the public vote phase of the contest. Here is the link to see all the winners:</span><br />
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<u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://flawildflowers.org/photocontest-2015.php" target="_blank">Florida Wildflower Photography Contest 2015</a> </span></u><br />
<br />Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09720547317948102261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134083639420431298.post-13226819134214759462015-08-19T16:08:00.000-04:002015-09-01T12:49:43.680-04:00Recent Speaking Engagement - Volusia County Orchid Society<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I recently spoke at the Volusia County Orchid Society on August 19th, 2015. Thank you so much to the society for hosting me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09720547317948102261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134083639420431298.post-3799769697627240952015-07-31T13:07:00.002-04:002015-08-19T16:02:48.118-04:00Recent Speaking Engagement - Treasure Coast Orchid Society, Vero Beach, FL<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I spoke on Tuesday, August 4 at 7PM, at the Treasure Coast Orchid Society in Vero Beach, FL, giving my new, highly acclaimed presentation on Florida's Endangered Orchids - a survey of some of our rarer orchids, their habits, habitat, and current status. The society's web site can be found here: <br /><br /><a href="http://mytcos.org/">http://mytcos.org/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The address for the meeting was:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Indian River Garden Center, 2526 17th Avenue, Vero Beach, Fl 32960</span><br />
Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09720547317948102261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134083639420431298.post-26987415198678709422015-07-28T12:14:00.001-04:002015-10-10T23:32:17.204-04:00Orange Fringed Orchid (Platanthera ciliaris) in Bloom<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here is a video I shot recently in north-central Florida showing the Orange (Yellow) Fringed Orchid (Platanthera ciliaris) in full bloom. It is the first of 16 videos I have on my channel depicting our native orchids.</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0qSbxZ9S-rE?list=PLkhofA9-1soJqPhOWzY-e-IQiVHL1woIZ" width="480"></iframe>Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09720547317948102261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134083639420431298.post-37137058573043557092015-07-07T13:10:00.001-04:002015-07-31T13:21:04.393-04:00Recent Speaking Engagement - Martin County Orchid Society on July 23, 2015 at 7:00 PM<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I recently gave my new presentation "Florida's Endangered Orchids" at this society meeting--a discussion
of some of Florida's rarest orchids: their habitat, their present
status, and what is being done to protect them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The presentation was very well received. </span><br />
<br />Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09720547317948102261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134083639420431298.post-69856257336504074982015-07-07T13:07:00.001-04:002015-07-31T13:19:33.325-04:00Recent Speaking Engagement - Gulf Coast Orchid Alliance, Naples, FL on July 16, 2015 at 6:30 PM<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I gave my new presentation "Florida's Endangered Orchids", a discussion of some of Florida's rarest orchids: their habitat, their present status, and what is being done to protect them at this society meeting recently.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It was very well received, with compliments such as "this was the best presentation I have seen in two years of being here".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09720547317948102261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134083639420431298.post-27247695931084706672015-05-25T13:18:00.000-04:002016-05-26T11:21:03.483-04:00Report from the Field: The Green Scarlet Ladies' Tresses<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>EDIT:</b>In the intervening time since this was posted last year, we created a video showing this form and the typical form in flower in Florida. You can view that here:</span><br />
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dhRXibWls_M/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dhRXibWls_M?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was first introduced to Scarlet Ladies' Tresses (<i>Sacoila lanceolata</i>) through Carl Luer's epic work, <i>The Native Orchids of Florida</i>, when I was a teenager. This species was known then as <i>Spiranthes lanceolata</i> with three variants - <i>var. lanceolata</i> (typical variety), <i>var. paludicola</i> (Fakahatchee variety), and <i>var. luteoalba</i> (the green, albino, variety). I had wanted to see these in person for many years, but never managed to be in the central Florida area, where they grow most abundantly, during flowering.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As an adult, I became acquainted with an individual who had a number of cultivated plants of this species in his greenhouse and he sent me a plant, which flowered a few years later, finally acquainting me personally with these beautiful flowers.<br /><br />Fast-forward to a few years later when we made a visit to the Redland Orchid Festival. On the drive down, we spotted colonies of this plant growing along the Florida Turnpike--my first introduction to wild plants of this species. Even driving along at full speed, these plants were obvious enough to allow us to slow down and stop safely to observe them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was introduced to the Fakahatchee variety on a trip to the Corkscrew Swamp in March. Sadly, they were almost bloomed out, so they were not worth photographing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This left <i>var. luteoalba</i>, the green form, now demoted to a form of the typical variety as <i>S. lanceolata var. lanceolata fma. albidaviridis</i>, as the only variety I had not seen. Searching for this plant, I visited many large colonies of the typical variety, hoping to find a few stray green plants, to no avail. Sometimes the green form would turn up in image sets of other Florida nature photographers, but their locations were kept a closely guarded secret.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finally, this year, one of my Facebook friends, Jake Antonio Heaton, posted some pictures of the green variety and was willing to divulge the secret location of these plants.<br /><br />I drove down to the location the next morning.<br /><br /> Interestingly enough, their location was not in some secretive meadow, but right along a quite busy highway, clustered in with red forms of the species. While the red form is shockingly conspicuous, the green form is just the opposite, blending in quite well with the surrounding grasses. True to Luer's description of this form, the plants all seemed to be in full bloom, while most of the red form plants nearby were still a week away from flowering. Further down the road, however, I did encounter large blooming clusters of the red form.<br /><br />Here is a typical mixed colony of plants, red and green forms. Note how the green forms are almost invisible:</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/orchids/sacoila_lanceolata/sacoila_lanceolata_red_and_green.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/orchids/sacoila_lanceolata/sacoila_lanceolata_red_and_green.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here is a pair of flowering plants blooming closely together:</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/orchids/sacoila_lanceolata/sacoila_lanceolata_albidaviridis_pair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/orchids/sacoila_lanceolata/sacoila_lanceolata_albidaviridis_pair.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here is single plant in flower:</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/orchids/sacoila_lanceolata/sacoila_lanceolata_albidaviridis_grassy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/orchids/sacoila_lanceolata/sacoila_lanceolata_albidaviridis_grassy.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here is the same plant isolated with a black backdrop:</span>
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<a href="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/orchids/sacoila_lanceolata/sacoila_lanceolata_albidaviridis_on_black.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/orchids/sacoila_lanceolata/sacoila_lanceolata_albidaviridis_on_black.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here is a very tall plant, with roughly twice the flower count of a typical plant of the species:</span>
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<a href="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/orchids/sacoila_lanceolata/sacoila_lanceolata_albidaviridis_tall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/orchids/sacoila_lanceolata/sacoila_lanceolata_albidaviridis_tall.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All told, I saw 19 green form plants and about as many red form plants at this colony. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Driving east from this location, I found many large colonies of the typical form of the species, but there were no green form plants among these colonies. I eventually had to turn around and head back westward to drive home. Just about a mile to the east of the initial colony of green plants, I found another cluster of green plants along with a few red ones. Scanning the other side of the road, I found many flower spikes of the standard form still in high bud</span>.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, finally, after many years of searching, I have managed to see and photograph the green form of this species in the wild. Many thanks to Jake Antonio Heaton for sharing this location with me.</span><br />
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Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09720547317948102261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134083639420431298.post-76298695558995382942015-05-18T13:22:00.001-04:002015-07-31T13:17:33.095-04:00Florida Wild Orchid / Wildflower Walk!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On June 6, we hosted a wild orchid / wildflower walk in the east Orlando area (Ft. Christmas Park and Orlando Wetlands Park). 16 People attended, and we had a great time seeing Florida Butterfly Orchids, Grass Pink Orchids, and Water Spider Orchids all in flower. In addition, we saw plants of the Greenfly Orchid and Jingle Bell Orchid (these should be blooming in August). In addition, we saw many other wildflowers, a hummingbird visiting some Tillandsia flowers high in a tree, and a Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Much fun was had by all! <br /><br />We will try to do this again in 2016 in the first week of June.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09720547317948102261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134083639420431298.post-39349067508176101142015-05-17T02:14:00.001-04:002015-05-17T02:14:17.542-04:00Sometimes Lightning Strikes Twice (or, In This Case, Three Times)<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just a few weeks after finding the previous white Grass Pink, I revisited the location of a previously known white-flowered plant, to find a perfect threesome of pure-white flowers! Well, pure white except for the orange-yellow color in the hair bristles.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/orchids/calopogon_tuberosus/calo_tuberosus_albus_awesome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/orchids/calopogon_tuberosus/calo_tuberosus_albus_awesome.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was particularly happy that the positioning of the flowers allowed the focal plane to neatly bisect all three bristles of hairs, allowing each to be in sharp focus. A pretty rare shot, indeed!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For a refresher on how Grass Pinks are pollinated, which is quite fascinating in its own right, watch the video below:</span><br />
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Tmff9cg6M7c/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Tmff9cg6M7c?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09720547317948102261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134083639420431298.post-54287105797694737432015-05-05T12:02:00.000-04:002015-10-10T23:31:40.458-04:00White Grass Pink! or Calopogon tuberosus fma. albiflorus<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For the fourth time, recently, in my 30+ years of observing Florida
native orchids in the wild, I have come across the albus (white) form of
the Grass Pink Orchid (Calopogon tuberosus). Photos taken with
natural light and an off-shoe camera flash unit. Enjoy this rare sight
that few naturalists have ever seen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">First, the flower, taken with natural light (very late afternoon).</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/orchids/calopogon_tuberosus/calo_tuberosus_alba_natural_2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/orchids/calopogon_tuberosus/calo_tuberosus_alba_natural_2015.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Next, taken with an off-shoe flash, allowing a faster shutter speed and a lower aperture for more depth of field.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Enjoy!</span>Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09720547317948102261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134083639420431298.post-89029008111710272792015-05-03T11:39:00.001-04:002015-05-03T11:39:45.287-04:00Scarlet Ladies' Tresses Orchids Blooming in Central Florida<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have posted a new video to the Florida Native Orchids Youtube channel showing the lovely Scarlet Ladies' Tresses Orchids (Sacoila lanceolata) in flower in a sunny meadow.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Enjoy!</span>Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09720547317948102261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134083639420431298.post-34913491126528471702015-04-04T14:45:00.000-04:002015-04-29T13:32:31.891-04:00Recent Speaking Engagement - Long Island Orchid Society, NY<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many thanks go to the Long Island Orchid Society for hosting me on Thursday, April 9th. Here is a link to their website:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://longislandorchidsociety.org/" target="_blank">http://longislandorchidsociety.org/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was an historic occasion, as it was my first Florida native orchid themed presentation given outside of the state of Florida. Previously, I have lectured many dozens of times at orchid societies, native plant societies, garden clubs, and symposiums, discussing our rare and unique orchid heritage. Afterward, members of the society stated:<br /><br /><i>"</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span data-reactid=".66.1:3:1:$comment10155470844120578_10155473466455578:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".66.1:3:1:$comment10155470844120578_10155473466455578:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".66.1:3:1:$comment10155470844120578_10155473466455578:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".66.1:3:1:$comment10155470844120578_10155473466455578:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0">Thank
you Prem. It was our pleasure to host you and I think you finally
brought some warm weather to NY. You gave our group a very informative
well organized talk packed with information and the hour just flew by. </span></span></span></span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span data-reactid=".66.1:3:1:$comment10155470844120578_10155473466455578:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".66.1:3:1:$comment10155470844120578_10155473466455578:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".66.1:3:1:$comment10155470844120578_10155473466455578:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".66.1:3:1:$comment10155470844120578_10155473466455578:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0">Highly recommended speaker!</span></span></span></span>"</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Florida is home to many rare and beautiful orchids, as well as some that are not as rare (but just as beautiful and interesting). While the semi-tropical central and southern regions of the state boast the greatest orchid diversity in the entire US (with many of these species found nowhere else in the continental US), Florida also has species that range well outside the state.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This presentation was a combination of the best and most interesting orchids from two of my talks, representing both orchids shared across our borders with the rest of the US and orchids found only within Florida, including such luminaries as the Ghost Orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is a combination of scientific information, beautiful photographs, and anecdotes from many hundreds of hours in the field hunting, observing, and photographing our orchid wonders. </span>Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09720547317948102261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134083639420431298.post-39097123558601417712015-03-25T11:15:00.002-04:002015-04-29T13:32:16.447-04:00Previous Appearance - Florida Wildflower and Garden Festival, DeLand, FL<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I spoke recently on Florida's native orchids at the Florida Wildflower and Garden Festival on West Indiana Avenue in historic downtown DeLand, Florida. Thank you to everyone who dropped by our booth and attended the talk, showing your support for our efforts in educating the public about Florida's native orchids.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My talk was at 2PM in the Athens Theatre in the heart of the festival.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09720547317948102261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134083639420431298.post-52191374171730289492015-01-13T16:57:00.002-05:002015-01-13T16:59:20.848-05:00Our YouTube Channel is Open for Your Viewing Pleasure<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While I primarily shoot still photographs while out in the field, I have been dabbling with shooting short videos of various species of orchids and their habitats and cobbling them together into something that is hopefully interesting and entertaining. These are all assembled into our YouTube channel, which you can visit by clicking the link below:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I have also created a widget in the top right corner of this blog linking to the most recent videos in the channel. </span>Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09720547317948102261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134083639420431298.post-43796104605956094172014-12-17T12:51:00.000-05:002014-12-17T12:50:09.641-05:00New for 2015 - the Florida Endangered Orchid Calendar<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Only $19.99 Plus Shipping!</span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have released a new wall calendar for 2015 featuring some of Florida's rarest orchids. The Florida's Endangered Orchids calendar features 12 stunning photographs of our rarest and most beautiful and intriguing orchids. These will make great Christmas (or other) presents for your friends, loved ones, and co-workers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is the cover image from this handsome calendar:</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/merchandise/2015_cover_art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/merchandise/2015_cover_art.jpg" height="500" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and here are a few featured images from this calendar:</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/merchandise/cyrtopodium_punctatum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/merchandise/cyrtopodium_punctatum.jpg" height="312" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/merchandise/ghost_orchid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/merchandise/ghost_orchid.jpg" height="312" width="400" /> </a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/merchandise/hexalectris_spicata.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/merchandise/hexalectris_spicata.jpg" height="312" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/merchandise/vanilla_barbellata.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/merchandise/vanilla_barbellata.jpg" height="312" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/merchandise/vanilla_mexicana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/merchandise/vanilla_mexicana.jpg" height="312" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To order your own calendar, follow the link below:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.cafepress.com/floridasendangeredorchids" target="_blank">Florida's Endangered Orchids Calendar.</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09720547317948102261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134083639420431298.post-20106338271037060752014-12-17T12:49:00.001-05:002014-12-17T12:49:08.761-05:00Ribbon/Thick-root Orchid (Campylocentrum pachyrrhizum) Profile/Photo Gallery Published<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a major milestone! It is the 50th native orchid profile/photo gallery published to the Florida Native and Naturalized Orchids website. This is one of the rarer orchids in our state, Campylocentrum pachyrrhizum, known alternately as the Ribbon Orchid or the Thick-root Orchid. It is distantly related to the Ghost Orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii) and is a bit more common, but still exceedlingly rare. To make matters worse for this species, individual plants are sometimes poached because structurally, they resemble Ghost Orchids somewhat. Imagine the disappointment for said poacher when, instead of seeing a large, white flower (if the plant even lives to flowering), he/she sees a tiny, inconspicuous flower.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Plants of this species can be easily distinguished from Ghost Orchids even when out of flower. Read up on them on the new gallery/profile to educate yourself on this species. Here is the profile entry:</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/natives_gallery/campylocentrum_pachyrrhizum.htm" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.flnativeorchids.com/natives_gallery/campylocentrum_pachyrrhizum.htm </span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And here is one of the images from the profile:</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/orchids/campylocentrum_pachyrrhizum/campylocentrum_pachyrrhizum_flower2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/orchids/campylocentrum_pachyrrhizum/campylocentrum_pachyrrhizum_flower2.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Enjoy!</span>Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09720547317948102261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134083639420431298.post-20752632131901193712014-12-16T11:33:00.000-05:002014-12-17T12:40:15.829-05:00Carter's Orchid (Basiphyllaea corallicola) Profile Posted<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I have posted a new profile on the Florida Native Orchid site for Carter's Orchid (<i>Basiphyllaea corallicola</i>). It is an exceedingly rare orchid, found only on a very few occasions in the ever shrinking (due to rampant overdevelopment) pine rockland ecosystem.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here is the link to the profile:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://flnativeorchids.com/natives_gallery/basiphyllaea_corallicola.htm">http://flnativeorchids.com/natives_gallery/basiphyllaea_corallicola.htm</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">and here is one of the images from the new page:</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/orchids/basiphyllaea_corallicola/basiphyllaea_corallicola_profile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/orchids/basiphyllaea_corallicola/basiphyllaea_corallicola_profile.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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<br />Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09720547317948102261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134083639420431298.post-12306147964038447002014-10-22T12:15:00.001-04:002014-10-22T12:15:58.829-04:00Galeandra bicarinata Profile Posted<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/orchids/galeandra_bicarinata/galeandra_bicarinata_natural_light.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/orchids/galeandra_bicarinata/galeandra_bicarinata_natural_light.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I have posted a profile for the Two-keeled Galeandra (G. bicarinata) on the Florida Native Orchids Page:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://flnativeorchids.com/natives_gallery/galeandra_bicarinata.htm" target="_blank">http://flnativeorchids.com/natives_gallery/galeandra_bicarinata.htm</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This orchid is much rarer than the Ghost Orchid, with only a few dozen individuals found scattered throughout several hardwood hammocks in extreme southern Florida. </span>Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09720547317948102261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3134083639420431298.post-50755226612916837052014-10-17T18:24:00.000-04:002014-10-17T20:39:09.368-04:00Spooky Orchids for Halloweed - Updated.<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes, Halloweed, not Halloween...where we celebrate hallowed weeds! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are a few spooky-looking or spooky-named fall-blooming orchids from the state of Florida:</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/orchids/habenaria_odontopetala/habenaria_odontopetala_flower.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/orchids/habenaria_odontopetala/habenaria_odontopetala_flower.jpg" height="400" width="277" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><i>Habenaria
odontopetala</i>, or the toothpetal false rein orchid, is in flower now.
The small, 1/2-inch-wide flowers look like small goblins. The
spiderwebs add to the spooky effect. Did I mention that these flowers
are only fragrant at night? Haunting Florida swamps and forests with
their ghostly fragrance.</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/orchids/eulophia_alta/eulophia_alta_flower_closeup02.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/orchids/eulophia_alta/eulophia_alta_flower_closeup02.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">Another
fall-blooming orchid, the Wild Coco (<i>Eulophia alta</i>) blooms in September
in central Florida, spreading into December in south Florida. The
flowers have somewhat of a resemblance to erect-eared, fanged dog heads.
With multiple "heads" per spike (which can reach up to five feet
tall), these are a worthy botanical analogue of Cerberus, the
multi-headed dog guarding the underworld in Greco-Roman mythology.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/orchids/dendrophylax_lindenii/dendrophylax_lindenii_atmospheric_shot.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/orchids/dendrophylax_lindenii/dendrophylax_lindenii_atmospheric_shot.jpg" height="320" width="244" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">Usually,
this orchid blooms in summertime, although occasional fall-blooming
plants are found. Still, with the common name of Ghost Orchid,
<i>Dendrophylax lindenii</i> is a perfect Halloween orchid. It is also keenly
night fragrant, pollinated by the Giant Sphinx Moth that also inhabits
Florida's haunted southern swamps</span></span><span class="fbPhotoTagList" id="fbPhotoSnowliftTagList"><span class="fcg">.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="fbPhotoTagList" id="fbPhotoSnowliftTagList"><span class="fcg">Finally, <i>Ponthieva racemosa</i>
is known as the Shadow Witch, owing to its habit of growing in deep,
shadowy wooded areas. Blooming in October in northern Florida, it
blooms in November in central Florida and December in the far southern
end. This lovely little orchid is known for casting deep spells of wonder on those who find her in her secretive lair.</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/orchids/ponthieva_racemosa/ponthieva_racemosa.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.flnativeorchids.com/images/orchids/ponthieva_racemosa/ponthieva_racemosa.jpg" height="320" width="256" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">Click the "View the Gallery" graphic at the top of this blog page to see many more photos of Florida's amazing orchids.</span></span></span></span></span>Premhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09720547317948102261noreply@blogger.com0