orchid

A rare wild orchid has been brought back from the brink of extinction by the work of dedicated conservationists.

The intense humidity wilted the $20 breakfast receipt in my pocket, but the orchids and plumeria around me were thriving.

We counted more than 100 bee orchids — which to a bee lover like me, was the climax of years of work.

Koja is concerned about the loss of unique indigenous trees like the giant orchid, already a problem before mining has even started.

“I didn’t know that orchids grew in Florida or that they grew in the wild at all,” she confesses.