"The... ghost orchid that wowed... many Southwest Floridians and visitors... last year is once again producing... blooms in Audubon's Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.
One of the eight buds on the... plant is blooming and another one is opening, said Ed Carlson, executive director of the Naples sanctuary. He expects all of the buds to be open in about a week and the blooms to be visible for at least three weeks. The orchid... perched about 45 feet up the trunk of a bald cypress tree... can be seen from the boardwalk. A viewing scope is trained on the orchid to magnify it for visitors... Ghost orchids may bloom for several years in a row before taking a sabbatical [smile...], said Mike Owen, biologist for the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park... The orchid bloomed three times last year. The first time it had 12 blossoms, and Owen dubbed the plant "Super Ghost." The second, time it had 10 blossoms and the third time, three blossoms, for a total of 25 flowers. ... Owen said about 100 ghost orchid plants are scattered deep in the strand this year, with a record pace on the number blooming. About 25 of the plants should bloom this year, producing about 35 flowers, he said. Owen won't be giving orchid tours because of the heat, the distance into the swamp to find them and the fact that some who have been on the tour in the past came back to help themselves to the coveted plants. Tourism officials have jumped on the orchid wagon this year to take advantage of eco-tourism opportunities in tune with the orchid's bloom. A list of hotels are offering special orchid rates and packages... the Naples, Marco Island and Everglades Convention and Visitors Bureau... was caught unprepared when the orchid bloomed last summer and didn't set any program up ahead of time to lure tourists" URL : http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080630/NEWS0105/806300339/1002/NEWS01 photo : http://cmsimg.news-press.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=A4&Date=20080630&Category=NEWS0105&ArtNo=806300339&Ref=AR&Profile=1002&MaxW=550&MaxH=650&title=0 ******************** Regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
