Native orchid, photography, and general botany links:
- Florida's Native and Naturalized Orchids - my website, devoted to educating the public about Florida's native orchids.
- Native Orchid Conference - forum dedicated to discussion of all things related to native orchids of the United States and Canada. This group also puts out a quarterly journal and hosts an annual conference that changes location each year.
- Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants- great site for researching information about Florida's native flora. Note the author of the images of Pteroglossaspis pottsii on the website.
- University of Florida Herbarium- has the ability to search many herbarium records related to native flora, including orchids.
- GhostOrchid.info- information site on Florida's ghost orchids, maintained by Chris and Misti Little.
- Orchidspecies.com- probably the largest assemblage of information on orchid species on-line, including species native to Florida.
- Orchidworks.com- site run by an AOS awards photographer, Greg Allikas. Also includes photos of Florida natives and natives of other areas in situ.
- My Florida Wildlife- Larry Roberts' collection of wildlife and other natural photos, as well as information on all sorts of wildlands in Florida. Includes a section dedicated specifically to orchids.
- Wild Florida Photo- Paul Rebmann's photographic collection of Florida's fauna and flora.
- Rick Cruz Photography- Rick Cruz's photographs of south Florida scenery, animals, and flora - includes a number of native orchid photos. Very interesting use of digital techniques to make subtly colored subjects stand out from a grayscale background.
- Florida Native Plant Society- site dedicated to "promote the preservation, conservation, and restoration of the native plants and native plant communities of Florida."
- Florida Nature Photography- site maintained by Rich and Galina Leighton in Tallahassee, FL. Has quite a collection of native orchid photographs.
Places to see native orchids (Please NOTE: please do not collect the orchids. Leave them for others to enjoy after you leave.):
Some of my favorite orchid vendors:
- Andy's Orchids - Species specialist. Native orchids may show up on his list from time-to-time.
- Botanica, Ltd. - Sells seedlings and somewhat more established ghost orchids.
- Carter and Holmes Orchids - Home of the famous Encyclia tampensis fma albolabia 'Mendenhall' AM/AOS (i.e. a white-lipped form of Enc. tampensis).
- Grasspinkorchids.com - vendor that sells Grass Pink Orchid (Calopogon tuberosus) as well as species and hyrids of Bletilla orchids.
- Oak Hill Gardens - Sells seedlings of ghost orchids, and occasionally other species known to inhabit Florida.
- Orchids, Ltd. - Several Florida species are offered on their listing. Be sure to check out their weekly in spike/in bloom section for instant gratification.
- Santa Barbara Orchid Estate - several Florida species are offered on their listings. Be sure to check out their "Orchid of the Day" link, which features an orchid species or hybrid either in spike or at a bit of a discount.
- Troy Meyers Conservatory - Primarily a flasking service (where he'll flask your seed for free in exchange for the right to sell seedlings of the flasked seed). Often has established seedlings for sale (which occasionally include native orchids).
General orchid and orchid hobbyist information sites: