Wild Wednesday: Ghost Orchid

The ghost orchid, a rare plant named for its almost transparent flowers and habit of hiding underground for years, was been found again in the UK after being declared extinct there in 2005.

The small flower does not rely on photosynthesis for sustenance and instead lives in symbiosis with an underground fungus that supplies nutrients. This allows the plant to survive underground for years without blooming.

The rediscovery of the translucent ghost orchid blossom is credited to the painstaking detective work of an amateur botanist, Mark Jannink, who allegedly greeted the flower with the words "Hello you? so there you are!" Before his recent discovery, there had been no sightings of the ghost orchid since 1986.