Frog Orchid

Dendrophylax lindenii (den-dro-FY-laks lin-DEN-ee-eye)

Family: Orchidaceae Unknown Herbaceous

Ghost Orchid is an epiphytic orchid (growing on the surface of another plant) with showy white flowers native to moist dense forested areas in Florida and Cuba. It is usually leafless, but its roots are green and can perform photosynthesis for the plant. This plant can be found in native environments in only a few southern Florida counties and is listed as endangered in Florida. The white to creamy green or pale yellow flowers, which bloom through the late winter into summer, open in succession, usually one or two at a time, and are very fragrant at night. The lower petal has two long tendrils that twist slightly downward, resembling the hind legs of a jumping frog and the roots are so well camouflaged that the flower seems to float in mid-air, hence its common name of "ghost orchid". The species name "lindenii" is derived from its discoverer, the Belgian plant collector Jean Jules Linden, who saw this orchid for the first time in Cuba in 1844. Much later, it was also discovered in the Florida Everglades. Attempting to grow this species of orchid is very difficult and most attempts to raise seedlings into adult plants in sterile culture end in failure. This orchid is fully protected by Florida state laws, which forbid its removal from the wild. Plants collected from the wild typically do not survive removal from their habitat, and die within a year. In the wild, this plants habitat consists of the trunks or main branches of living trees, especially apple trees.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 28 attributes.