poaching at the Fak

[got ants]

After yesterdays trip out there, I saw lots of signs of recent poaching. This really sucks.

Now the reason for this thread...is to share a place where most of our native orchids can be purchased at....

Ruben In Orchids

Ruben carries

Enc tamp
Enc tamp "alba"
Enc boothiana
Epi amphistomom
Epi nocturnal
Epi floridense
Epi rigidum
Cytopodium punctatnum
Prosthechea cochleata
Oncidium floidanum

...and if you really want a ghost so bad, Andy's Orchids has them too...

Andy's Orchids - Orchid Species - Orchids - Species Specialist - Orchids on a stick

[Ghost Hunter]

Was anything else missing?

It would be nice to see an entrance gate/ranger booth like in other major parks.....maybe even have random searches of vehicles exiting the park....especially knowing the potential for poaching and the amount of orchid life out there....the Fak has the highest concentration of endangered orchids in the country.....would only make sense. To me at least.


Here's hoping.........one day.....perhaps....


Living life one photo at a time.

[flhiker]

It makes me sick to my stomach when I find a poached plant. How many plants do you figure where taken? Thanks for the post.

[got ants]

Originally Posted by flhiker

It makes me sick to my stomach when I find a poached plant. How many plants do you figure where taken? Thanks for the post.

Dave, I counted at least 4 different trees that had cuts on them. Who knows how many others, but this particular area had at least 20 cochleatas. I could not find one.

If you know the area, its the culvert just past that newly widened parking area, and south of it.

The ghosts in that area are high up, so I don't think they are in danger.

I would hope its not any of the folks we know that go out there, but it seems the park is making it way to easy for the unscroupolous.

[Brotherly Monkey]

aren't cochleatas rather common in cultivation, or is there some other reason wild harvested plants would be desirable to a collector?

[RosieC]

It really sucks that this happens

[prem]

I had someone send me a picture of where a fairly substantial cigar orchid was poached from off one of the trails in the Big Cypress swamp. They left one pseudobulb out of two plants that probably had 20 bulbs each...JERKS!!!!!! This almost seems to be an epidemic.

[susiep]

What is really sad it that it is almost certain that these plants will not survive. So they were poached for nothing.

[susiep]

I got another native plant from Hennington Farms (I think her name is Kathy) at the Tamiami show in January. It is a nice sized Epi nocturnum, 5 canes, one had a seed pod, freshly potted up in a small wood basket. Only $20. Since then it bloomed! And it was awesome. I am pretty sure this flower is pregnant, too. However I have no idea who the baby daddy is on either pod. Anyway, that is another reputable dealer of Florida native plants.