CNN iReport

Naples, Florida, July 13, 2009 - an endangered Ghost Orchid blooms again at the easily accessible Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.  Popularized by such books as The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean and the subsequent movie based on the book, "Adaptation", this species of orchid has elicited a sense of awe and mystery that has entranced many.

Two years ago, a pair of wildlife observers was out on the boardwalk at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary near Naples, Florida.  Thinking that they saw a barred owl, instead, what they saw through their binoculars was one of the most spectacular sights ever seen.  A flock of nine white ghost orchid blooms,perhaps the most ever seen on a single plant, greeted their eyes.  This created an instant sensation, with the word spreading like wildfire.  Visitors flocked to see this rare sight from literally all over the world.

The plant went on to have twelve flowers open at once, for a total of fifteen for its first blooming.  It then bloomed again with flushes of flowers in August and September, for a total of twenty-five flowers during one season.

For those who know about ghost orchids, seeing even one flower open on a plant is a special treat.  Multiple flowers are rarer still, and many observers will walk great distances through mosquito, snake, and alligator infested swamps to see such a sight.  Such an environment meets these intrepid explorers at the Fakahatchee Strand State Park to the southeast of Naples, one of the last holdouts for this endangered species, known as Dendrophylax lindenii to the scientific community.

Thankfully, it is just this inaccessibility that protects most known ghost orchids from collectors, to many of whom this plant is the holy grail of orchids.  Even so, plants have turned up missing in recent years at the Fakahatchee, according to park biologist Mike Owen.  As a result, the locations of remaining plants are a closely guarded secret, making it very unlikely that a casual observer would ever see one of these plants in the wild.

The ghost orchid at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is a rare exception.  Its location is not a well-guarded secret, as it sits high in a tree 40 feet up and roughly 150 feet from the handicapped-accessible boardwalk.  Snaking a little over two miles through the old growth cypress swamp at the sanctuary, the boardwalk allows easy access to rare treasures from the deep swamps of southern Florida without the difficulty of slogging through miles of mud and water.  Roughly halfway along the boardwalk, a group of observers now sits huddled near volunteers' well-placed spotting scopes or staring through their own binoculars at the rare sight of the blooming orchid.

This year, many hotels in the Naples area are offering 'ghost orchid rates', discounts for visitors in town to see the rare sight, and they come from literally all over the globe to see this flower.  "We have had folks calling from Australia asking if the ghost orchid is still in bloom" states the gentleman taking admission fees in the visitor's center.

For those interested in joining these visitors, directions and more to the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary can be found at the following web page:

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

More information on the Ghost Orchid can be found at the following site:

Ghost Orchid Information Page at FLNativeOrchids.com