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Vandeae 27 images Created 2 Apr 2012

Orchids of the Vandeae tribe are perhaps the most unusual of all our native orchids, because none of them have leaves except when they are tiny seedlings. they also have as part of their tribe the Holy Grail of orchid hunters - the ghost orchid. Equally fascinating and also very hard to find in the wild are the two other species of leafless orchids. See all three here!
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  • Ghost orchid photographed on a steamy hot summer morning in the Fakahatchee Strand. Not particularly hard to find once you know how to find them, they can be as invisible as ghosts to most people! At last count I'm up to 86 ghost orchids in various locations.
    Ghost Orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii)
  • Ribbon orchid growing on the side of a tree deep in the Fakahatchee Strand. Without leaves to help spot it, this orchid is nearly invisible until it blooms.
    Ribbon Orchid (Campylocentrum pachyr..zum)
  • Ghost orchid bud I was monitoring over the space of a couple of weeks deep in the Fakahatcheee Strand. Luckily they are hard to find and grow in often difficult-to-access areas. Out of the 88+ individuals I've found over the years, many of them have been stolen by orchid poachers.
    Ghost Orchid with Bud
  • The rare and exquisite ghost orchid photographed just after dawn in its natural environment.
    Ghost Orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii)
  • Another very rare sight! Three seedling jingle bell orchids with vestigial leaves and recognizable epiphytic roots. These were found in an area with very many young pop ash trees with at least 200 established jingle bells growing on them. Soon these leaves will disappear and in time will become the normal leafless tangles of roots common to both of Florida's Dendrophylax orchids.
    Jingle Bell Orchid Seedling (Dendrop..tus)
  • Close up of the tiny jingle bell orchid. This is the largest one of these I have found to date, and I repeated the five mile hike from the road about a half dozen times until this 3mm flower bud finally opened for this photograph!
    Jingle Bell Orchid (Dendrophylax por..tus)
  • A rare sight! A pair of ghost orchids from a single plant! Ghost Orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii)
    Double Ghost Orchid (Dendrophylax li..nii)
  • A rare sight! A pair of ghost orchids from a single plant, high in a pop ash tree in a secret location in Collier County, Florida.
    Double Ghost Orchid (Dendrophylax li..nii)
  • Ghost orchid bud at night in the Fakahatchee Strand! Probably not recommended for the bravest of orchid hunters, the Fakahatchee Strand in SW Florida is an especially busy time at night! This bud opened a few days later.
    Ghost Orchid with Flower Bud
  • The rare and exquisite ghost orchid photographed just after dawn in its natural environment.
    Ghost of the Fakahatchee (Dendrophyl..nii)
  • Close-up side view of one of the world's most famous orchids!
    Ghost Orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii)
  • Ghost orchid photographed on a steamy hot summer morning in the Fakahatchee Strand. Split-toned sepia for an antiqued look.
    Ghost Orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii)
  • Ghost orchid in full flower on a drab stalk growing from a tangle of green-gray roots. See how the flower just seems to float in mid air?
    Ghost Orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii)
  • Ribbon orchid growing on the side of a tree deep in the Fakahatchee Strand. Without leaves to help spot it, this orchid is nearly invisible until it blooms. This one is just starting to bloom.
    Ribbon Orchid (Campylocentrum pachyr..zum)
  • Close-up detail of a ghost orchid bud at night in the Fakahatchee Strand! Probably not recommended for the bravest of orchid hunters, the Fakahatchee Strand in SW Florida is an especially busy time at night! This bud opened a few days later.
    Ghost Orchid Bud
  • Side view of the ghost orchid. The five to six inch spur is a long hollow tube that contains the nectar which draws the giant silk moth. This unique moth has a six inch tongue that while reaching the bottom of the spur to feed, some pollen from the flower's anther will stick to the head of the moth, and then get transfered to the next ghost orchid it feeds on. While visiting several flowers during the course of a night - it unknowingly pollinates these flowers to produce the next generation of ghosts. Without this special moth, we would have no ghost orchids.
    Ghost Orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii)
  • Ghost orchid in the early morning, catching a rare sunbeam in the deepest part of the Fakahatchee Strand. Truly one of the most beautiful and exotic orchids in the world.
    Ghost Orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii)
  • A ghost orchid high in a pop ash tree in a secret location in Collier County. It's good to know that they do in fact grow quite well outside of the Fakahatchee Strand and the Corkscrew Swamp!
    Ghost Orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii)
  • A ghost orchid high in a pop ash tree in a secret location in Collier County. It's good to know that they do in fact grow quite well outside of the Fakahatchee Strand and the Corkscrew Swamp!
    Ghost Orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii)
  • A very rare sight!!! Although the ghost orchid is known as a "leafless orchid" - when it is just sprouting its recognizable  and distinct roots on its host tree, there is a tiny vestigial leaf - an evolutionary throwback to an earlier ancestor.
    Ghost Orchid Seedling (Dendrophylax ..nii)
  • The world-famous ghost orchid photographed here in its natural environment.
    Ghost Orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii)
  • View of this tiny leafless orchid with flower buds. The only way to find these in the wild is to look for these long tangling roots.
    Jingle Bell Orchid (Dendrophylax por..tus)
  • A very large (for this tiny orchid) and mature jingle bell orchid with seedpods. How tiny are these orchids? The trunk the roots are clinging to is about one and a half inch thick.
    Jingle Bell Orchid (Dendrophylax por..tus)
  • Successfully pollinated and fruiting seedpods of the nearly impossible-to-find and leafless ribbon orchid. Not only is this orchid extremely rare in the United States, it is only found in one tiny pocket of one remote part of the Northwestern Florida Everglades known as the Fakahatchee Strand, which is its northernmost range This one was photographed deep in the Strand while standing about waist-deep in the black, slowly-moving waters deep in the shadows of ancient bald cypress trees. Luckily, it can also be found in parts of the Caribbean islands, Central America, and even in some parts of Northern South America.
    Ribbon Orchid Seedpods
  • The rare and exquisite ghost orchid photographed just after dawn in its natural environment.
    Ghost Orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii)
  • Unusual angle of a wild blooming ghost orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii) photographed from behind the flower on Florida's Fakahatchee Strand on a steamy hot summer morning.
    Ghost Orchid Photographed from an Un..e #1
  • Unusual angle of a wild blooming ghost orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii) photographed from behind the flower on Florida's Fakahatchee Strand on a steamy hot summer morning.
    Ghost Orchid Photographed from an Un..e #2