Epipogium aphyllum

Not to be confused with the American ghost orchid.

Ghost orchid
Habit
Ghost orchid flower
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Epidendroideae
Genus: Epipogium
Species:
E. aphyllum
Binomial name
Epipogium aphyllum
Synonyms

Satyrium epipogium L.

Epipogium aphyllum, the ghost orchid, is a hardy mycoheterotrophic orchid lacking chlorophyll.[2] It is one of the rarest representatives of Orchidae family.[3]

It is famous for its unpredictable appearance; in many localities it has been seen just once.[4] It is found in beech, oak, pine, and spruce forests of Europe and Asia, on base-rich soils. It is a rare and critically endangered plant in Britain; it was believed to be extinct throughout much of its former range, although in 2009 and in 2024 it was re-confirmed, where the plants were believed to have become extinct.[5][6]

The plants are protected in many locales, and removing the plants from habitat or disturbing the plants, even for scientific study, can be a very serious matter in many jurisdictions. These plants are exceptionally rare and should never be removed from habitat or disturbed.[7]

In 1926 the Welsh botanist Eleanor Vachell was asked by the British Museum to investigate a report of the ghost orchid in England. For many years the Welsh National Herbarium at Amgueddfa Cymru (National Museum of Wales) had only a small rhizome that had been gathered by Vachell on 29 May 1926.[5]

  1. ^ Rankou, H. (2011). "Epipogium aphyllum (Europe assessment)". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2011: e.T176021A7174447. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  2. ^ UKTV Viewer Enquiries. Plants Behaving Badly. Murder and Mayhem. Blu-ray. UPC 4006448510039
  3. ^ Efimov, P. G., & Sorokina, I. A. (2011). Epipogium aphyllum in NW-European Russia: distribution and habitats. Journal Europäischer Orchideen, 43(1), 99-118.
  4. ^ Juliette Jowit (March 8, 2010). "Ghost orchid comes back from extinction". The Guardian.
  5. ^ a b Ghost orchids - a fleeting occurrence in dark, shaded woods, 3 July 2013, Museum of Wales, retrieved 21 August 2016
  6. ^ Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland [@BSBIbotany] (13 August 2024). "Wow, amazing news! Huge congratulations to our friend, orchidologist & top plant spotter Richard @thenewgalaxy, who has refound Britain's rarest orchid after 30 years! As its #PlantAtlas2020 page says, this is 'the most arduously sought British plant'" (Tweet). Retrieved 13 August 2024 – via Twitter.
  7. ^ Melanie Roy; Takahiro Yagame; Masahide Yamato; Koji Iwase; Christine Heinz; Antonella Faccio; Paola Bonfante; Marc-Andre Selosse (2009). "Ectomycorrhizal Inocybe species associate with the mycoheterotrophic orchid Epipogium aphyllum but not its asexual propagules". Annals of Botany. 104 (3): 595–610. doi:10.1093/aob/mcn269. PMC 2720653. PMID 19155220.