For the first time since the “super” ghost orchid was discovered at Audubon Florida’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary nearly 20 years ago, the plant failed to flower.
But, no worries, yet.
“The fact that it didn't bloom last year doesn't mean too much,” Keith Laakkonen, director of Corkscrew Swamp, said of the flower's 2025 inactivity. "It's something we'll keep an eye on, we're not really concerned.”
Laakkonen said the “super” ghost orchid has not only bloomed every year since it was discovered — except last — it has also bloomed multiple times most years. And over the years, it has bloomed during all 12 months.
“It's really hard to predict when these things are going to bloom,” Laakkonen said. “There's still a lot we don't know about the ecology of the species and how it responds to the environment.”
On the many other occasions Corkscrew’s “super” ghost orchid has bloomed, it draws folks with "Ghost Orchid Fever" time and again. Admissions spike. People from as far away as Germany fly to Southwest Florida to marvel at it.
When they arrive it’s to end up staring at the flower barely larger than a man’s hand, high up in a tree, hundreds of feet from the nearest boardwalk, under the dark canopy of the trees. All but the strongest camera lenses and binoculars provide but a blurry white image on dark grey-brown bark.
Few ghost orchids regularly bloom annually. A healthy plant might bloom one summer, then skip the next two or three years entirely.
Some plants may go five years or more without flowering. When conditions align — typically involving adequate rainfall, humidity, and temperature during spring and early summer — a robust specimen may bloom twice in a single season.
Think of most ghost orchids as a temperamental model with stage fright. When everything’s perfect — humidity, temperature, and nutrients –- it spreads its solid white petals for a magical display of its assets.
A week or two later its corolla — the formal name for the collection of orchid petals — starts to yellow, its petals fall off, and all that’s left is a naked clump of roots. The flower then has an orchid version of a hissy fit and tucks back into its much larger host tree to hide until it gets prepared to perform again.
Ghost orchids where conditions aren’t as adequate may only bloom once every five years. This sporadic pattern is why seeing a ghost orchid in bloom is considered a rare event.
What happened to Corkscrew’s “super” ghost orchid last year very possibly belongs to the category of things known to suppress blooming.
Because ghost orchids need consistent moisture from rainfall, the drought gripping Southwest Florida since this time last year is considered a primary culprit in the non-bloom.
But — for the opposite effect — several times, Corkscrew’s famous "super” ghost orchid has bloomed during every month of the year, or more than a half-dozen times in certain years -- that’s super unusual.
Environmental reporting for WGCU is funded in part by VoLo Foundation, a non-profit with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health.
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