"revival efforts of... Kentucky ladyslipper... rare orchid in both Louisiana and Texas... a widespread effort by both Kisatchie National Forest and the Central Louisiana Orchid Society (CLOS).
... seedpod... was sent to a lab in Minnesota and the young seeds were allowed to mature. When the seeds developed into seedlings, they were ready to be returned to Louisiana, but not yet to the wild. Enter the CLOS. Five members of the society volunteered to house trays of the young seedlings until they were ready to be introduced into their native environment. ... some seedlings are lost to natural causes as well as wild animals that feed on the plant. Even though the risk of losing these plants is high, a positive result could have long-reaching impact for both the plant and the appearance of Kisatchie National Forest. ... the Kisatchie National Forest populations represent the southern extreme of the species in Louisiana... currently this type of orchid is known to exist in only two locations of all of the forest's 600,000 acres. These locations are generally kept a secret since one of the plants biggest threats is humans who illegally collect them. Among the other enemies and threats of the plant are squirrels, nonnative plant life, habitat loss and wild hogs. ... wild hogs tend to uproot the plants to feed on their underground bulbs. ... To counteract wild animals' tendency to uproot the plant, the CLOS growers have constructed cages to place over the seedling crops " source : http://www.leesvilledailyleader.com/articles/2006/06/22/news/news2.txt ********** regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
