Finding a Ghost Orchid by Chance

Finding a Ghost Orchid by Chance

When you get to see a ghost orchid up close, it is not overtly pretty as most orchid varieties usually are. Physically, it looks fragile; it's an epiphyte which means that it's found anchored on trees where it gets its nutrients. The ghost orchid is found in areas of Cuba, the Bahamas and Florida where its habitat flourishes in relatively moist and humid swamp lands.

Unlike other monocotyledons, it doesn't have stems and its leaves look more like scales than leaves. A ghost orchid is almost all roots which are flat and create this wild tangle on tree trunks where they get moisture. Its outer layer called the velamen is what it uses to absorb nutrients.

The ghost orchid flowers between the months of June and August are white and are held upwards from spikes emanating from the roots to give it the illusion of floating like a white apparition, hence its name.

Why the Ghost Orchid is Valuable

Unlike its more gorgeous sisters who bank on their beauty to be commercially saleable, the ghost orchid relies on its extreme rarity for its intrinsic value. This rarity has classified it as being endangered. In fact, taking one of the Florida Everglades is punishable under state and federal laws. Adding to this rarity is the fact that the ghost orchid is notoriously difficult to breed in an environment outside its own natural habitat. Breeders who must attempt to cultivate the said orchid must replicate the orchid's growing conditions as close as possible.

In its natural habitat, pollination of the ghost orchid is equally daunting and unique. Only one insect, the giant sphinx moth is up to this task as it is the only one with a proboscis long enough to reach into the flower.

Even its mycorrhizal symbiosis is unique. If conditions are not right such as when the fungus that symbiosis interacts with is not present, the ghost orchid could actually die, effectively reducing its numbers.

Moreover, setting a price for a ghost orchid (if it is ever put on sale under legal circumstances) is quite prohibitive. Yet there's no need to buy the flower in order to appreciate it. Recent sightings of specimen in many areas of Florida's Everglades mean that there's more than a ghost of a chance to actually see a ghost orchid.

All it takes really is a wilderness tour and just maybe, you get lucky to catch a glimpse of this delicate and rare natural apparition.