'Iconic' Ghost Orchid Considered for Federal Protections as Population Dwindles Amid Climate Change

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo: RHONA WISE/AFP via Getty

U.S. officials want to save an elusive flower found in remote stretches of Florida swamps as it faces the possibility of extinction amid climate change.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Wednesday that the “ghost orchid” is on a list of candidatesworthy of protectionunder the Endangered Species Act.

George Gann, executive director at The Institute for Regional Conservation, said the move would “help us not only to save this icon of beauty from extinction but allow for recovery work to commence.”

“Preventing extinction is the lowest conservation bar; our goal must be full recovery,” Gann added.

RHONA WISE/AFP via Getty

Earlier this year, only an estimated 1,500 ghost orchid plants were left in Florida, according to Tuesday’s release.

Melissa Abdo, a regional director of the National Parks Conservation Association, told ABC News thatfewer than 750 mature orchidsremained in the wild in the U.S. prior to Hurricane Ian. (It’s still unclear just how much damage the storm caused to the flower’s population, she added.)

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The “iconic” flower’s survival is put in jeopardy each time a hurricane hits the Sunshine State, Abdo explained.

“Park staff and conservationists alike want to do all they can to protect this really rare and beautiful plant,” she told ABC News. “They need more help.”

For the next year, officials will review factors affecting the ghost orchid population to determine if the flower qualifies as a threatened or endangered species under federal law.

“The ghost orchid is a testament to how biodiversity can have a monumental impact on our collective spirit and imagination,” Bennett said of the “rare and cryptic” flower.

source: people.com