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March 30, 2010.
The ghost orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii) off the boardwalk at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary has started its blooming season very early this year. This is the earliest blooming for this particular orchid on record and one of the earliest (if not the earliest) dates for seeing a blooming ghost orchid, period. Right now, there is only one flower open (with no other buds visible), so this is just a little taste of what this plant will do later on this year (it usually blooms in July through September with multiple flowers at once).
This one flower will likely last into this coming weekend, if you are interested in going to see it...or you can catch it later on this year Be sure to call the sanctuary in advance at (239) 348-9151 to see if it is still blooming. Also, be sure to get there early for plenty of time to walk the boardwalk.
The latest edition of Orchids magazine (the American Orchid Society) has just come out. In it, you will find an article I wrote (and took photos for) on our common and popular native orchid, Epidendrum magnoliae. The AOS publication has lately placed an emphasis on native orchids, with articles featuring US natives appearing monthly.
Epidendrum magnoliae is a rather common epiphyte in the state of Florida, inhabiting about 3/4 of the state (becoming absent in extreme southern Florida). It ranges outside of Florida into coastal regions of other southeastern states on both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, where its diminutive size allows it to hide in plain view in many hardwood hammocks and swamps, often nestled within colonies of resurrection fern (Pleopeltis polypodioides).
In any case, pick up a copy of Orchids if you're not subscribed (and, while you're at it, order a subscription to the magazine) and enjoy the article.
As of today, there are nine flowers open with five buds on the way. Looks like the venerable "Super Ghost" is gearing up for quite a show! If you have the means at all to get to the Naples, Florida area, this is well worth the time and effort.
---Prem
The world-famous ghost orchid at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is beginning to bloom again! According to the Fort-Myers News-Press, the plant has two flowers showing and another ten buds developing. Below is a picture taken during its first known blooming in July of 2007. At the point this was taken, seven flowers remained on the plant:
This is the only ghost orchid where the location is made known widely to the public (all other plants are a closely guarded secret to prevent poaching), and going to see it doesn't involve getting wet, muddy, and overwhelmed with mosquito bites. When the ghost orchid is in bloom, volunteers place spotting scopes on the boardwalk pointed at the flowers, so they can be enjoyed as if they were up close.
Here is a link to the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary web site:
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Website
Seeing one of these plants in the wild is an opportunity not to be missed!
Prem and family enjoying the ghost orchid at Corkscrew Swamp.
When we learned of this orchid back in 2007, we made the trek from the Orlando, Florida area down to the sanctuary just to the east of Naples. This was about a four-hour trip each way, but well worth the effort. We had visited the sanctuary on several occasions in the past and it has always been a favorite place for us. As you walk along the boardwalk from the visitor's center across the open pinelands and marshy area toward the swamp, it seems much like other boardwalks to other places you might experience. Soon you begin to penetrate the more open pond cypress swamp as you head further westward. Just about every branch is covered with species of bromeliads and the occasional orchid. Then you make the transition into the old-growth swamp and the sense of wonder becomes nearly overwhelming as you experience the old-growth cypress swamp. Large trees, festooned with every sort of epiphyte extend off into the distance, ringed around their bases with large ferns. Swamp lilies and hibiscus grow in the spaces between these, and smaller trees such as pond-apples and pop-ash form an understory that reaches to just overhead as you continue along the walk. It is like going back in time to a Florida that once was (as this type of ecosystem covered large tracts of our state at one time). It is also sad as you realize that most forests like this were logged as few as 50 years ago to pay for our "progress".As you continue on with a profound sense of wonder tinged with sadness, you turn a corner to see a
tiny crowd of people clustered around a few spotting scopes. With your naked eye, you can barely make out a wisp of white against a large, three-headed cypress far off like a giant trident planted in the swamp. A view through some good binoculars makes it possible to see it a little closer, but the spotting scopes really bring the flowers into close focus, every leg, every spur visible in the mass of flowers on this venerable, old plant. Not only is this plant easily viewable by visitors, it holds the record for the most flowers open on a single plant (12 flowers open out of 15 buds total) and the most flowers for a season (26 flowers in all). It bloomed three times again in 2008 (9 flowers in July -- I could find no reports of the flower counts for other months). No doubt this plant fluctuates from year-to-year as conditions seem more or less favorable for its flowering.
To read more about the ghost orchid in general, visit my Ghost Orchid Page.
Enjoy! And get out there to the sanctuary to see this plant!
---Prem
Dr. Carl Luer, author of The Native Orchids of Florida, was first made aware of this orchid in the late 1950's. It was not until several years later that he found plants of this species in flower, after several unsuccessful attempts. Described by Luer in 1966 and named Triphora craigheadii after the late Dr. Frank Craighead, Sr., entomologist and botanist at the Everglades National Park, this orchid is only known from a few localities in central Florida (and one or two possible localities from southern Florida). It may grow in many places, but it is so small as to be virtually undetectable, quietly inhabiting the understory of the understory of mixed oak/pine/juniper forests, where it grows as a terrestrial or occasionally a lithophyte over the limestone underlayment where it makes its home. As a genus, Triphoras are often quite small. This species is a liliputian even among Triphoras. I have included an image below with a U.S. penny placed in the shot to give an idea of the sense of scale.
To make it even harder to find these plants, they only bloom during the last week of June and first week or two of July. Were it not for the guidance of a good friend, I would not have these photographs to present to you today. Look for an update to the Florida Native Orchids website within the next few weeks with more information on this species.
Enjoy!
---Prem
