Wasps Pollinate Orchids — Who Knew?
Plants that are completely dependent on wasps for pollination include some orchid species that have evolved adaptations to attract the wasps they rely on, such as an appearance that mimics the back end of a female wasp.
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Ohio botanist features hard-to-find Calypso bulbosa orchid, also known as “fairy slipper”
“In the shaded haunts of one corner of Flowerpot Island’s coniferous forests lives a mystical being that I had waited many years to make acquaintances with: the calypso (Calypso bulbosa). This ever more rare denizen of the northern woods is … Continue reading →
Orchids and Fungus: A Conservation Connection
Orchids make up 10 percent of the world’s plant species; more than 50 percent of native orchids in North America are listed as threatened or endangered in some part of their home range. Botanist Dennis Whigham and his colleagues at the … Continue reading →
Kentucky Lady’s slipper Orchid Restoration Project
Orchid conservation efforts are going on all around the country. It is always encouraging to learn about individual groups taking on a special challenge, such as saving a species of North American orchids. The Kentucky Lady’s slipper Orchid is a … Continue reading →
New Orchid: ‘Lophiaris silverarum’ is known to grow only in Panama
One day about eight years ago a postdoctoral scholar and her father were on a field trip in a mountainous area in central Panama when they stumbled upon an orchid they had never seen before. Unable to identify it, … Continue reading →
New Orchid Species Found on ‘Lost World’ Volcano in the Azores
For years, there was only one formally recognized species of orchid on the Azores, a cluster of volcanic islands west of Portugal, though some claimed there were two species. However, a recent, three-year study to describe these Azorean flowers … Continue reading →