The scientific name of ghost orchid is Epipogium aphyllum. It is also known as spurred coral-root.

Facts about Ghost Orchids:
Kingdom - Plantae
Phylum - Anthophyta
Class - Liliopsida
Order - Orchidales
Family - Orhidaceae
Genus - Epipogium

Size of Ghost Orchids:
Stem length: Ranging from 5cm to 20 cm
Size of flowers: Approximately 15 - 20 mm (measured vertically)

Status of Ghost Orchids:
This orchid is specially protected in Britain under Schedule 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981.

Description of Ghost Orchids:
According to what its common name suggests, the ghost orchid is a mysterious plant. It spends a larger part of its life underground tends to disappear and suddenly reappear unexpectedly in an area. Also, this orchid certainly does have a ghostly quality because it completely lacks chlorophyll, the green pigment found in almost all plants. This is why it has a pale and waxy appearance. The stem is translucent with a slight tinge of pink and with many reddish streaks. The leaves are reduced to small scales and lie at the base of the plant. Higher up on the plant they take the form of one or two sheaths and fit snugly around the stem. Pale flowers are produced in quantity ranging from one to four which hang on fine stalks and are spotted with violet color. The ghost orchid species has a long-lived underground storage organ known as rhizome which looks like coral.

Range of Ghost Orchids:
In Britain, it has been found typically in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Herefordshire, and Shropshire. Globally, its range extends from north and central Europe south to the Pyrenees, the north of Greece and Crimea. It also occurs in Siberia, the Caucasus and Himalaya.

Habitat of Ghost Orchids:
Ghost Orchids are typically found growing in beech (Fagus), or more rarely, oak (Quercus) woodlands in deep leaf-litter or on rotten stumps where there is very little or no ground flora.

Biology of Ghost Orchids:
Ghost orchids are saprophytic, which means they obtain nutrients from dead organic matter. They lack the green pigment chlorophyll because they do not photosynthesize. The underground rhizomes can live for a very long time, but they do not produce stems every year. The flowers are pollinated by various bumblebees and other insects, but seeds are very rarely produced.

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