Saving South Florida’s Rare Orchids

Wildlife biologist Larry Richardson is holding 300 cigar orchids awaiting transfer to swamps on the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge in Florida. He’s hoping at least half will survive as part of a far-reaching plan to restore the species to the region’s natural ecosystem.

South Florida is home to about 40 of the nation’s 150 or so native orchid species. It is the only place in the contiguous 48 states to have native orchids that grow on trees – including the cigar orchid and mysterious ghost orchid, made famous by Susan Orlean’s The Orchid Thief.

Once flourishing in south Florida, many orchids are now endangered, having been devastated not only by relentless poachers but an extensive, 100-year-old canal system that has gradually reduced the water level in the swamps. As Richardson explained, the swamps absorb solar radiation during the day and then release it gradually overnight, warming the surrounding air enough to protect fragile orchids from below-freezing temperatures that occasionally hit even the subtropics.

Richardson’s partners in orchid preservation include graduate students at the University of Florida-Gainesville, who are working on complex seed propagation involving pairing the correct symbiotic fungi with each orchid species. Additionally, the South Florida Water Management District and other government agencies are working with Richardson to protect the swamps from drying up.

Contact: Larry Richardson, 239-353-8442, ext. 224.