Native Plant Spotlight – Green Fly Orchid

The below little beauty is a Epidendrum magnoliae aka Green Fly Orchid currently blooming in its foster home a Southern Red Cedar.

It flowers from August – March and sporadically thru the year.

They can be found in north Florida (Volusia is as far south) west to Lousiana and north along the coast to North Carolina. It is the only epiphytic (a plant that grows upon another plant (such as a tree) non-parasitically, derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it) orchid in the US that is found outside of Florida.

The above photo was taken in Palm Coast Linear Park. It had just finished blooming. I spotted my first in the canopy of an oak in Tomoka State Park, Daytona Beach (Volusia). They grow primarily on live oak, but can be found on juniper, magnolia, sweet gum, tulepo and red maple and are often with resurrection fern (brown plant surrounding orchid in above photo).

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