The rare Ghost Orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii), immortalized by the book and film The Orchid Thief, blooms from May to September in the cypress swamps of southernmost Florida. When it blooms at night, its fragrance attracts its pollinator, the Giant Sphinx Moth, which uses its six-inch long proboscis to reach the sweet nectar at the base of the Orchid’s long spur. Dendrophylax from tree (dendron) and guardian (phlyax) alludes to the orchid’s habit of growing on trees as an epiphyte. The species name honors Belgian collector Jean Jules Linden (1817–1898) who first saw the orchid in Cuba in 1844.
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