Ground-breaking field observations, funded in part by National Geographic, are shedding new light on Florida’s iconic Ghost Orchid. Because this orchid has a long nectar spur, it has long been thought that only the Giant Sphinx moth would be capable of reaching the nectar and pollinating the flower. But remote cameras set up in wildlife […]

The Pacific Orchid Conservation Initiative has been launched by NAOCC and the U.S. Forest Service’s Institute of Pacific Island Forestry and includes researchers from Illinois College and the University of Hawaii. This project aims to improve our understanding of orchid communities and their biology, and to explore the diversity of mycorrhizal fungi associated with these orchids.Why […]

Botanic Gardens Conservation International, in partnership with NAOCC’s collaborators at the United States Botanic Garden, has published a global ex situ survey of orchids. Ex situ collections grown in botanic gardens are a vital conservation measure offering protection to species away from their native habitat and any in situ threats.  Ex situ collections can also […]

The Orchid Recovery Program, based at Illinois College, has conducted orchid research and established conservation efforts in regions as diverse as Costa Rica, Cuba, and Madagascar. Here in the US, students under the direction of Professor Lawrence Zettler, have been tracking the elusive “ghost orchid” at the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge for nearly a […]

The Endangered Species Coalition has just released their annual top 10 list of endangered and rare species in the U.S. The report, No Room to Roam: 10 American Species in Need of Connectivity and Corridors, highlights ten rare or endangered species that lack safe, navigable corridors to connect them to important habitat or other populations. […]