IN THE GARDEN
soils. It lacks chlorophyll (the green pigment that provides leaf colour in plants and captures light energy from the sun for photosynthesis) and instead derives its nutrients from soil mycorrhizal fungi. The ghost orchid is known in only a few locations in the UK, and it’s also shy to bloom, producing flowers sporadically. In 2024 it was recorded as having flowered in the UK for the first time since 2009. Such is the scarcity of many orchid species globally that their habitats are protected to make sure that populations are not lost to habitat destruction, over- collection by enthusiastic growers or to climate change.
THREE OF A KIND (Clockwise from top left) The Bulbophyllum lepidum , Cattleya aurantiaca and Paphiopedilum insigne – all species of the lovely orchid
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