Deborah LaFogg-DochertyAFC PSA IAPS/MC Wildlife and Landscapes
The Ghost and the Giant
(2013)
Subject: Ghost Orchid and Giant Sphinx Moth Dimensions (inches): 20 x 14 Medium: Pastel on mounted Wallis paper Description: The Ghost Orchid and the Giant Sphinx moth have a symbiotic relationship. It is thought that the light scent of the Ghost Orchids flower and its color attracts the giant sphinx moth during the night. The moth's proboscis is long enough to traverse the five-inch nectar spur of the flower. Pollination is rare because takes 16 years before a single plant is mature enough to produce a single flower and the plants are scattered through out the sloughs of the Everglades and don't bloom all at once. The plant itself has no leaves just long reaching roots that are full of chlorophyll. The flower can last seven to ten days unless it is pollinated after which it quickly dies and a long tin seedpod forms. It's seeds are dependent on fungus to help them geminate,
Original Available For Sale:
Yes
Price: $1,200.00 US