Ghost Orchid in an Ice Rink
A blooming Ghost Orchid is a very rare sight, so imagine my surprise when I spotted this beautiful specimen in an ice rink. Made famous with the bestselling book The Orchid Thief and the movie Adaptation, Ghost Orchids are rare in the wild, tough to grow, and uncommon in cultivation. It’s the holy grail for orchid geeks like me. I’d never seen one in bloom at any orchid show, botanical garden, or greenhouse, so it was quite an unexpected discovery last weekend at the Orchid Society of Northwestern Pennsylvania Show in Erie.
This Ghost Orchid was part of an exhibit by Kim and Edgar Stehli of Windswept in Time Orchids. They’re located in Broadview Heights, Ohio, and can be reached by phone for sales at 440-838-5757. Ghost Orchids amaze with their stunning, fragrant white flowers and lack of leaves. They grow by using chlorophyll in their roots. Some of these photos show the greenish-white tangle of roots dangling behind the exotic flower. Ghost Orchids are native to swamps and coastal forests in South Florida, the Bahamas, and Cuba.
I’ll post more photos from Erie soon, but this remarkable bloom is my choice as the highlight of the show held in an ice rink. Even if I’m lucky enough to see another Ghost Orchid flower again, I’ll bet it won’t be so close to a Zamboni.
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May 12th, 2010 at 8:31 pm
They look just like people dancing! It’s a very pretty flower.
May 13th, 2010 at 9:05 am
You may also want to add another book to your ghost orchid stories, Ghost Orchid, a recent release by D.K.Christi, the only novel about the surprise blooming of the only ghost orchid ever discovered in Blair Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary at the edge of the Everglades. D.K. Christi followed the bloomings every summer, on a daily basis until she finished Ghost Orchid. I breathes with the life force that pulses through the Everglades; and NPR said the ghost orchid is the heart and soul of the story. See the reviews at ww.w.dkchristi.com and add it to your ghost orchid collection.
May 15th, 2010 at 8:41 pm
[…] Along with a striking Ghost Orchid, there were some wonderful blooms at last weekend’s Orchid Society of Northwestern Pennsylvania Show in an Erie ice rink. […]
May 16th, 2010 at 10:34 am
not clear on the concept of how a plant grows w/o leeaves, but it’s a cool flower.
thanks for the pics.
May 24th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
Those are great pictures. I recently saw the ghost orchid at the Oak Hills vendors booth. Very exciting. I posted about it here (and updated the post to link to yours): http://catsandcatts.blogspot.com/2010/05/ghost-story.html
best, Brian
May 31st, 2010 at 8:55 pm
Thanks for the cool shots
June 7th, 2010 at 6:05 pm
Amazing flower-it doens’t even look real
June 25th, 2010 at 6:05 pm
Oh, if I had known I could see a ghost orchd, I would have driven to that show. Maybe I’ll plan to go next year and it’ll be in bloom again at the same time.
July 10th, 2010 at 6:18 pm
[…] the rare and elusive Ghost Orchid can pop up in some unusual places, the most reliable spot to see one in bloom is the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples, Florida. […]
October 24th, 2010 at 9:09 pm
[…] Ghost Orchids, dead orchids, and weird orchids can spook you, but it’s the creepy Draculas that can scare you […]