Sunday 19 May
Ghost orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii)

What’s the World’s Favourite Species?
Find out here.Ghost orchid fact file
- Description
- Biology
- Range
- Habitat
- Status
- Threats
- Conservation
- Find out more
- Glossary
- References
- Print factsheet
Ghost orchid description
| Kingdom | Plantae |
| Phylum | Tracheophyta |
| Class | Liliopsida |
| Order | Orchidales |
| Family | Orchidaceae |
| Genus | Dendrophylax (1) |
This beautiful orchid has recently achieved fame on the silver screen, in the film 'Adaptation' that focuses on Susan Orlean's book 'The Orchid Thief' (2). The ghost orchid is so-called due to the appearance of the leafless plant that consists only of a network of thin roots wrapped around the host branch; the flowers (borne on spikes arising from the root network) appear to be suspended in the forest air (3). The white flower also explains this species' other common name of 'frog orchid'; as the elongated lip petal resembles the back legs of a jumping frog.
- Also known as
- Florida ghost orchid, Frog orchid.
- Synonyms
- Polyradicion lindenii, Polyrrhiza lindenii. Top
- Epiphytic
- A plant that uses another plant, typically a tree, for its physical support, but which does not draw nourishment from it.
- Photosynthesis
- Metabolic process characteristic of plants in which carbon dioxide is broken down, using energy from sunlight absorbed by the green pigment chlorophyll. Organic compounds are made and oxygen is given off as a by-product.
-
CITES (May, 2003)
http://www.cites.org - Bernhardt, B. (2003) An Orchid Grows in Hollywood. Plant Talk, 32: 38 - 39.
- Van Alstyne, IW. (1980) Polyradicion lindenii, new name for Polyrrhiza lindenii. Florida Orchidist, 23(1): 21.
-
U-haul International (May, 2003)
http://www.uhaul.com/supergraphics/orchid/index-flash.html - view the contents of, and Material on, the website;
- download and retain copies of the Material on their personal systems in digital form in low resolution for their own personal use;
- teachers, lecturers and students may incorporate the Material in their educational material (including, but not limited to, their lesson plans, presentations, worksheets and projects) in hard copy and digital format for use within a registered educational establishment, provided that the integrity of the Material is maintained and that copyright ownership and authorship is appropriately acknowledged by the End User.
Ghost orchid biology
When not in flower the plant consists solely of its network of roots, which are used both to absorb moisture and for photosynthesis(4). Ghost orchids flower during the summer months, producing a succession of single flowers (3), which (in Florida) are pollinated by the giant sphinx moth (4).
TopGhost orchid range
Found in the West Indies and in southern Florida in the United States (3).
TopGhost orchid habitat
This epiphytic orchid grows upon the branches and trunks of trees within its wetland habitat (3).
TopGhost orchid status
Listed on Appendix II of CITES (1).
TopGhost orchid threats
This orchid is now extremely rare, and such beautiful plants remain at risk from illegal collection (4).
TopGhost orchid conservation
In Florida, the ghost orchid is fully protected and it is illegal to tamper with or remove plants of this species (4). It is also protected within the Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve (4). To date, cultivation of this spectacular species has proven unsuccessful and the only method of preserving this ephemeral orchid in the wild is to protect areas of remaining habitat (4).
TopFind out more
NatureServe Explorer:
http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Polyradicion+lindenii
Authentication
Authenticated (5/6/03) by Dr Phillip Cribb. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
http://www.rbgkew.org.uk
Glossary
References
More »Related species
Close
Image credit
© Connie K. Bransilver / Artemis Images
Artemis Images
60 Seagate Drive #406
Naples
FL
34103
United States of America
Fax: +1 239 649 0336
Bransilver@aol.com
http://www.artemisimages.net
Close
Link to this photo
Embed this ARKive thumbnail link by copying and pasting the code below.
Terms of Use - The displayed thumbnail may be used as a link from your website to ARKive's online content for private, scientific, conservation or educational purposes only. It may NOT be used within Apps.
Read more about
Close
MyARKive
MyARKive offers the scrapbook feature to signed-up members, allowing you to organize your favourite ARKive images and videos and share them with friends.
Close
Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials
Copyright in this website and materials contained on this website (Material) belongs to Wildscreen or its licensors.
Visitors to this website (End Users) are entitled to:
End Users shall not copy or otherwise extract, alter or manipulate Material other than as permitted in these Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials.
Additional use of flagged material
Green flagged material 
Certain Material on this website (Licence 4 Material) displays a green flag next to the Material and is available for not-for-profit conservation or educational use. This material may be used by End Users, who are individuals or organisations that are in our opinion not-for-profit, for their not-for-profit conservation or not-for-profit educational purposes. Low resolution, watermarked images may be copied from this website by such End Users for such purposes. If you require high resolution or non-watermarked versions of the Material, please contact Wildscreen with details of your proposed use.
Creative commons material
Certain Material on this website has been licensed to Wildscreen under a Creative Commons Licence. These images are clearly marked with the Creative Commons buttons and may be used by End Users only in the way allowed by the specific Creative Commons Licence under which they have been submitted. Please see http://creativecommons.org for details.
Any other use
Please contact the copyright owners directly (copyright and contact details are shown for each media item) to negotiate terms and conditions for any use of Material other than those expressly permitted above. Please note that many of the contributors to ARKive are commercial operators and may request a fee for such use.
Save as permitted above, no person or organisation is permitted to incorporate any copyright material from this website into any other work or publication in any format (this includes but is not limited to: websites, Apps, CDs, DVDs, intranets, extranets, signage, digital communications or on printed materials for external or other distribution). Use of the Material for promotional, administrative or for-profit purposes is not permitted.











