Ghost Orchid

Ghost Orchid (Epipogium aphyllum/Dendrophylax lindenii)

Not only rare but fascinating, the Ghost Orchid is a plant that was presumed to be extinct for almost 20 years and only recently materialized again. The plant is so rare because it is near-impossible to propagate. It has no leaves and does not use photosynthesis to manufacture its own food.  It, like the Lady Slipper mentioned below, needs a specific fungus in close contact with its root system to feed it.  The Ghost Orchid can live underground for years and is only found in forests in Cuba, and another variety, in Florida.  The flowers emit fragrant odors and bloom between the months of June and August.  In Cuba they grow on cypress trees in which they appear to float like ghosts, thus the name.  They can only be pollinated here by the giant sphinx moth and if their seeds land on a specific moss.  For being so selective as to their growing conditions, the Ghost Orchid drifts in at number 4.