{"id":12503,"date":"2012-07-14T07:30:57","date_gmt":"2012-07-14T15:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/?p=12503"},"modified":"2012-11-02T19:49:09","modified_gmt":"2012-11-03T03:49:09","slug":"the-scent-of-scandal-greed-betrayal-and-the-worlds-most-beautiful-orchid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/2012\/07\/14\/the-scent-of-scandal-greed-betrayal-and-the-worlds-most-beautiful-orchid\/","title":{"rendered":"The Scent of Scandal: Greed, Betrayal, and the World’s Most Beautiful Orchid"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>\"\"\"PK<\/a>
\nCan the prestige and profit of an orchid discovery make people, even reputable institutions, flout the law? You bet they can. And when it’s the dazzling PK lady slipper, the most important orchid discovery in a century,<\/a> you can bet it involves lying, cheating, search warrants, subpoenas, and criminal fines. Author Craig Pittman recounts the intricate story in The Scent of Scandal: Greed, Betrayal, and the World’s Most Beautiful Orchid<\/em><\/a>. With complications like inadequate conservation laws and rampant rainforest destruction, its twists and turns are drawing comparisons to the classic Maltese Falcon<\/em><\/a>. In this bloodless drama, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens<\/a> in Sarasota, Florida has the dubious distinction as the only US botanical garden ever to be found guilty of smuggling. Rushing to be the first to name the new species, Selby experts knowingly used a plant brought illegally from Peru. This well researched book dives into the depths of orchid obsession.<\/p>\n

\u201cFANTASTIC. If I did not know most of the main players I would have thought the author had a vivid and twisted imagination.\u201d\u2014Paul Martin Brown, author of Wild Orchids of Florida<\/em><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cA fascinating true story of obsession, greed, and lust for the unobtainable. Reminds me a great deal of The Maltese Falcon<\/em>. This rare flower is definitely the stuff that dreams are made of.\u201d\u2014Ace Atkins, author of Devil’s Garden<\/em><\/a> and Infamous<\/em><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n