Kew Gardens: Endangered orchid species flowers in UK first

A taxon of endangered orchid is expected to angiosperm successful the UK for the archetypal clip connected Thursday.

Dendrophylax lindenii, known arsenic the Florida Ghost Orchid successful the US and Cuba, is acceptable to bloom astatine Royal Botanic Gardens, successful Kew, south-west London.

It was flown into the UK from Chicago 2 weeks ago, with the bud displayed astatine Chelsea Flower Show.

Prof Mike Fay, elder probe person astatine RBG Kew, called the UK flowering a "positive conservation story".

"This is simply a fantastic illustration of a palmy collaborative conservation project, with respective universities and botanic gardens successful the USA moving unneurotic for the greater good, highlighting the value of orchid conservation astir the world," helium added.

There are lone astir 1,500 shade orchid plants near successful southbound Florida and 500 successful Cuba, Professor Fay said.

After being included successful the celebrated angiosperm show, the orchid was donated to Kew Gardens, wherever it is connected show successful a terrarium successful the Princess of Wales Conservatory.

It was germinated astatine the University of Florida successful 2014, earlier it was donated to Chicago Botanic Garden.

Prof Fay said that orchids acted arsenic a barometer for biodiversity nonaccomplishment and were often the archetypal taxon to vanish erstwhile an ecosystem suffers.

"When a nexus successful the concatenation breaks, orchids go endangered," helium said.

Dendrophylax lindenii is recorded arsenic "endangered" connected IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

The colonisation drastically declined erstwhile its big trees, 1,000-year-old bald cypresses, were logged successful World War Two to supply lumber for craft bearer decks.

Kew Gardens has 1 of the oldest collections of surviving tropical orchids successful the world, arsenic good arsenic much than 400,000 preserved specimens.

Each twelvemonth it hosts an Orchid Festival successful the Princess of Wales Conservatory.