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The orange-yellow crested fringed orchid, platanthera cristata (Dr. Thomas G. Barnes/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) __________________________________________________________________________________ An orange-yellow orchid that has eluded botanists for almost two decades has been rediscovered in the state of Massachusetts. The rare, endangered plant has been the subject of speculation since falling off the radar in 2001, and botanists remain so concerned for its preservation that the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife has made an impactful decision. They decided not to reveal the exact location of the orchid’s 2020 reappearance. It was rare-plant expert Dr. Robert Wernerehl of MassWildlife’s Natural Heritage and Endangered Species...

A lone and unique population of about 30 reddish to dark violet-maroon orchids grows on the small patch of land between the borders of two Colombian departments. However, its extremely small habitat is far from the only striking thing about the new species. A closer look at its flowers' heart reveals what appears to be a devil's head. Named after its demonic patterns, the new orchid species, Telipogon diabolicus, is described in the open access journal PhytoKeys. Discovered by Dr Marta Kolanowska and Prof Dariusz Szlachetko, both affiliated with University of Gdansk, Poland, together with Dr Ramiro Medina Trejo, Colombia,...

I'm sorry for the vanity. A month ago I purchased a Phalaenopsis orchid for my new breakfast nook table. It was an impulse purchase, and I've since impulsively purchased another orchid. Now I'm wondering how to keep them healthy, because they're so beautiful. I'd also like to purchase more, but I'm afraid I'll kill them. Are there any orchid growers in the house?

The world's smallest known orchid (pictured)—just over 2 millimeters (0.08 inch) across and nearly see-through—has been discovered nestled in the roots of another flower in Ecuador, scientists announced this week. Lou Jost, an ecologist with the EcoMinga plant-conservation foundation, has studied the plants of the South American country's mountainous forests for 15 years. Earlier this year he'd collected an orchid of a larger species to study in his greenhouse. "Several months later I saw this tiny plant," he said. Ecuador's mountains are havens of biodiversity, where plants on one mountain may be entirely different from those on a neighboring peak....

SAN FRANCISCO - Scientists announced Monday the discovery of a rare — and stinky — orchid species that flourishes only in the wet meadows of a beloved portion of Yosemite National Park. Botanist Alison Colwell said the species' minute, tennis-ball yellow flowers weren't what first led her to it, but rather the smell of sweaty feet that the Yosemite bog-orchid emits to attract pollinators. "I was out surveying clovers one afternoon, and I started smelling something. I was like, 'Eew, what's that?'" said Colwell, who works for the U.S. Geological Survey in El Portal. "It smelled like a horse corral...

An orchid growing in harsh conditions defies gravity to twist its male sexual organs 360 degrees to fertilize its female organ, Chinese scientists have discovered. The pink-flowered orchid, Holcoglossum amesianum, grows on tree trunks at altitudes of 1,200 to 2,000 metres in China's Yunnan province. The plant flowers during the drought season from February to April, when there is no wind. Under such conditions, the plant can't use the traditional means of mating used in flowering plants, such as relying on insects or other animals, wind, or gravity to carry the pollen. In Thursday's issue of the journal Nature,...

Grower gets prison for smuggling orchids to Spring Associated Press MIAMI - A prominent Peruvian orchid grower was sentenced today to almost two years in federal prison for scheming to smuggle prized tropical lady slipper orchids into the United States. Manuel Arias Silva will spend one year and nine months in prison for shipping internationally protected wild orchids intermingled with nursery-raised flowers to a Texas dealer several times to feed the desires of high-end hobbyists from 1999 to last year. U.S. District Judge Patricia Seitz sentenced Arias to the low end of the federal guidelines on his guilty plea to...