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Phantom Orchid
Cephalanthera austinae
49.05, -122.3
Field Notes
Description:
A single stalk of cream white flowers rises from the duff of the forest floor with no leaves attached. The flowers have a bit of yellow and pink in them but the main colour is white. No chlorophyl involved in this mycoheterotrophic "plant" at all. Wiki says it is the only species of the Cephalanthera genus in the Western Hemisphere.
Habitat:
Habitat destruction is one of the main reasons why this endemic orchid is has become so rare. I have not posted the exact location to protect the 10 orchids of this species that I was shown yesterday to try to protect them from collectors. I don't think they would survive if someone tried to move them anyhow as they are dependent on the roots of the surrounding plants and fungus. We tried to determine which of the plants they were associated with but there was no immediate plants that were around all of the 10 locations.
Notes:
Although not truly a plant species, I decided on the plant group rather than "Other" as it is really plant and fungus, I think!
I want to thank my sister, Jean Sawatzky for showing me this rare orchid as it was one of my goals to see this. Also please check out her first spotting of this orchid on Project Noah and her recent one:
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/413686041
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/6918374
and another one from Oregon in 2012:
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/128916580
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