[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]
Posted by David S. on 22:16:50 09/20/07
In Reply to: Corkscrew Ghost Orchid posted by Boyle
Good luck on your trip to The Corkscrew & hope you get to see the Ghost Orchid (Polyrrhiza lindenii). What would be really nice to hear is if any of the flowers were pollinated and set any seed pods. Each seed pod from (orchids) usually contain over 1 million seeds. Just shows us the odds of a wind-blown seed landing on the right medium and germinating to produce a mature orchid. The swampy habitat is there, but are the pollinators? The large night-flying hawk moth is a possible pollinator, since it has a long enough proboscis to reach down the long spur of the flower. See if there are any seed pods. They should still be there when you visit, since they need to stay on the plant for 6-8 months to mature. That would help insure future generations of this beautiful orchid in the Corkscrew Swamp.
[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]