AboutOrchids

The endangered Caladenia Spider Orchid is on the edge of extinction. With only two plants known, it’s Australia’s rarest orchid. Fortunately, botanists and volunteers are fighting to rescue it. For security, scientists have kept the plants’ exact location near Melbourne a secret. They’re not even saying which of the hundreds of species of Caladenias this one is. One of the plants bloomed this year, so there’s extra protection. It’s surrounded by a cage, and monitored by a video camera. In addition, scientists are collecting the orchid’s pollen and germinating its seeds at the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne. They hope someday to return plants to the wild. Check out the video below for more about this rare beauty:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXuk7Fantkk (video no longer available)

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This entry was posted on Saturday, November 16th, 2013 at 5:15 am and is filed under Conservation, Cool Growers, Videos.

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