With Halloween around the corner and the thought of ghosts and goblins prowling the darkened nights, how about a real flower that looks like a ghost?
Yes, that’s right. There is actually a flower called a ghost orchid, and its tiny, spindly flower with no leaves, looks eerily like a ghost clinging to the bark of trees.
Not found outside of Florida, the Bahamas, and Cuba, the ghost orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii)is sadly, becoming an endangered species. In Florida, there are around 2,000 ghost orchids. About 10 percent of them flower in a year, and only during a brief and unpredictable period of time in summer.
In fact, ghost orchids living for decades may only bloom a couple of times! It’s a shame to think the fragile, unique (and ghostly) apparitions that are both flowers and orchids, could disappear forever. Poof!
As much as I’d love to add this orchid to my collection, I’m afraid I’ll have to admire it from afar. The plant is actually leafless, consisting of bare green roots that cling in random patterns to the bark of specific trees.
This orchid is aptly named, given its ghastly spectral appearance. Because it clings to tree bark. The white flower — when it does bloom (which may be once a decade) — appears to hover in the forest. The lack of leaves makes it an apparition when it does bloom. But it’s also known as palm polly and white frog orchid due, no doubt, to its unique shape and habit of growing on trees.
它的美丽和罕见的存在使幽灵兰花吸引了寻找这种不同寻常的花的海盗。是的,有些人把掠夺自然世界作为他们的毕生工作来获取经济利益。这项工作导致了鬼兰花在其自然栖息地的日益减少。
Can you grow these at home? Perhaps. But only nurseries in Florida supply this orchid. It’s very difficult and expensive for nurseries elsewhere as the financial risk in trying to maintain such a rare beauty is unmanageable — considering the plant’s very particular growing requirements.
Related Post:How to Care for Orchids
Those pirates who attempt to steal these plants from their natural environment are met with disappointing results. The ghost orchid usually dies in captivity. There are some botanists researching the possibility of seed germination, but this study is still in the early stages.
The ghost orchid lives up to its name not only in appearance, but also in the fact that its limited, scattered populations have put it on the endangered species list. It survives in swampy forests and small wooded islands. Its greatest threat to survival is human: poaching, climate change, destroyed habitat, and the decline of natural pollinators.
Interesting Facts About Ghost Orchids
Check out some interesting notes about this mystical floral phantom.
Their Blooming Time Is Short
When (and if) the orchid blooms, it happens once a year for a few weeks between June and August.
在任何一年,只有10%的鬼兰花开花。在这10%中,有10%会授粉。
Ghost Orchids Have No Leaves
这种植物有鳞片而不是叶子,整个植物似乎没有叶子,这使它区别于无叶兰花。
茎也减少了,所以没有茎和叶,只有10%的鬼兰花开花,很难在它们的自然栖息地找到这些植物。
The Ghost Orchid Is Mostly Roots
Since there are no leaves, and the stem is minimal, the ghost orchid consists mostly of roots that grow on and around a tree’s bark — instead of the typical orchid which would grow in the ground soil. As such, the ghost orchid is an epiphyte, latching onto its host tree like a parasite.
Since there are no leaves to collect the sunlight for photosynthesis, the roots, which contain the necessary chlorophyll, take on this task. Not only do the roots anchor the plant on the tree, they also take in the water and nutrients the leaves would normally collect. These roots have small white marks (pneumatodes) to perform the gas exchange required for the plant’s respiration and photosynthesis.
Without the greenish blend offered by foliage, the plants root system is camouflaged against the tree bark when the plant isn’t blooming. When the flower does appear, it grows on a thin, spindly spike that projects away from the roots, giving the illusion it’s floating freely in the forest.
They Smell Like Apples
这种植物开花时散发出一种有趣的香气。它闻起来有点像苹果,在清晨最明显。
Giant Sphinx Moths Are Their Friend
幽灵兰花依靠巨大的狮身人面像蛾授粉。这种植物的花粉藏在花的深处,需要长喙才能让昆虫深入挖掘。
They Have 18 Preferred Host Trees
In Florida, the ghost orchid prefers the pop ash, pond apple, and bald cypress trees. In Cuba, it has at least 18 preferred host trees. Predators like the emerald ash borer are killing some of the host trees, thus depleting this plant’s natural habitat.
Poachers Are Making Them Extinct
With its rare and remote, inhospitable habitat, one would think an estimated 2,000 plantsin South Florida alonewould be enough to protect the orchid from plunderers. Unfortunately, the opposite is the case as this rarity makes a prime target for poachers eager to sell the plant on the black market. If they can find it, that is. The plants’ locations are kept secret and without prior knowledge of their habitat, very difficult to find. Especially when it’s not in flower.
There’s Fungus Among Us
Although almost impossible to cultivate, there is one fungus that seems to help. Michael Kane and other researchersstudied the barks of trees这些植物生长茂盛的地方。It was discovered that the moist bark harbors the fungus genus,Ceratobasidium, which excels at a higher germination rate.
The Ghost Orchid Is a Movie Star
The ghost orchid can claim movie star greatness as its plundering plight made headlines in 1993 when poachers tried to steal over a hundred plants. The story made headlines and was made intoa movie starring Meryl Streep and Nicolas Cage(Adaption, 2002) based on Susan Orlean’s book,The Orchid Thief.
With Florida’s wetlands threatened by development, drying up, and preyed upon by poachers, the ghost orchid may remain something of an apparitional enigma. Since I probably will not have the opportunity to grow one in my own, indoor orchid garden, or visit the protected areas where this plant grows at a time when the flowers appear, I doubt I’ll ever get to see these eerie, ghost-like anomalies in real life.
But I am continually amazed at flora that reflect the endless possibilities of nature’s creativity. Ghost orchids indeed. Too bad they only bloom in July and August in certain, limited environments. If only …
想要了解更多关于幽灵兰花的信息,想要看到这种难以捉摸的花的一些非常了不起的镜头,请观看《国家地理》的这部短片。
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