White Orchid of the Everglades

The illusive white orchid of the Everglades, also known as the “Ghost Orchid? It has been the subject of numerous articles and even a crime novel.

 

It can be found, if it can be found, in the Fakahatchee Strand. Small fortunes have been spent trekking through the Strand to locate it, high in the trees, where it escapes normal human view.

 

Now, you can learn more about the white, ghost orchid when Mike Owen, lead biologist for Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, appears as a special lecturer in Sanibel Island’s “Ding” Darling Visitor & Education Center. Owen’s free presentation will be at 10 am and 1 pm, Friday, March 21,

 

Owen will talk about the famous, wild orchid populations at Fakahatchee Preserve, known as the “Amazon of North America” because of its remarkable flora and fauna – 44 species of native orchids, 14 of native bromeliads, royal palms, bald cypress, Florida panthers, black bears, and more.

 

Admission is free to the lecture, which is sponsored by The Sanibel Captiva Trust Company and “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge (DDWS), as part of the latter’s 12-week FridayAfternoon Lecture Series. Seating for the lectures is limited and available on a first-come basis.

 

When staying at the West Wind Island Resort, the Sanibel Island inn and beach resort, you are in the closest such accommodations to J. N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge. It’s one reason why we have such an affinity for nature. The other is that our location on the Sanibel beach places us in center of one of Florida’s natural sanctuaries.

 

We’d love to have you stay with us, and share our love of Nature.