Epipogium aphyllum

Ghost orchid
	Habit
	Ghost orchid flower
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)(Europe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Orchidaceae
Subfamily:	Epidendroideae
Genus:	Epipogium
Species:	E. aphyllum
Binomial name
	Epipogium aphyllum; Sw.
Synonyms
	Satyrium epipogium L.

Epipogium aphyllum, the ghost orchid, is a hardy mycoheterotrophic orchid lacking chlorophyll.^[2] It is one of the rarest representatives of Orchidae family.^[3]

It is famous for its unpredictable appearance; in many localities it has been seen just once.^[4] It is found in beech, oak, pine, and spruce forests on base-rich soils. It is a rare and critically endangered plant in habitat, and is believed to be extinct throughout much of its former range, although it has been recently confirmed in the United Kingdom (2009), an area where the plants were believed to have gone extinct.^[5]

The plants are protected in many locales, and removing the plants from habitat or disturbing the plants, even for scientific study, can be a very serious matter in many jurisdictions. These plants are exceptionally rare and should never be removed from habitat or disturbed.^[6]

In 1926 the Welsh botanist Eleanor Vachell was asked by the British Museum to investigate a report of the ghost orchid in England. For many years the Welsh National Herbarium at Amgueddfa Cymru (National Museum of Wales) had only a small rhizome that had been gathered by Vachell on 29 May 1926.^[5]

^ Rankou, H. (2011). "Epipogium aphyllum (Europe assessment)". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2011: e.T176021A7174447. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
^ UKTV Viewer Enquiries. Plants Behaving Badly. Murder and Mayhem. Blu-ray. UPC 4006448510039
^ Efimov, P. G., & Sorokina, I. A. (2011). Epipogium aphyllum in NW-European Russia: distribution and habitats. Journal Europäischer Orchideen, 43(1), 99-118.
^ Juliette Jowit (March 8, 2010). "Ghost orchid comes back from extinction". The Guardian.
^ ^a ^b Ghost orchids - a fleeting occurrence in dark, shaded woods, 3 July 2013, Museum of Wales, retrieved 21 August 2016
^ Melanie Roy; Takahiro Yagame; Masahide Yamato; Koji Iwase; Christine Heinz; Antonella Faccio; Paola Bonfante; Marc-Andre Selosse (2009). "Ectomycorrhizal Inocybe species associate with the mycoheterotrophic orchid Epipogium aphyllum but not its asexual propagules". Annals of Botany. 104 (3): 595–610. doi:10.1093/aob/mcn269. PMC 2720653. PMID 19155220.

[1] Rankou, H. (2011). "Epipogium aphyllum (Europe assessment)". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2011: e.T176021A7174447. Retrieved 3 December 2023.

[2] UKTV Viewer Enquiries. Plants Behaving Badly. Murder and Mayhem. Blu-ray. UPC 4006448510039

[:0-3] Efimov, P. G., & Sorokina, I. A. (2011). Epipogium aphyllum in NW-European Russia: distribution and habitats. Journal Europäischer Orchideen, 43(1), 99-118.

[Jowit-4] Juliette Jowit (March 8, 2010). "Ghost orchid comes back from extinction". The Guardian.

[ghost-5] Ghost orchids - a fleeting occurrence in dark, shaded woods, 3 July 2013, Museum of Wales, retrieved 21 August 2016

[Roy-6] Melanie Roy; Takahiro Yagame; Masahide Yamato; Koji Iwase; Christine Heinz; Antonella Faccio; Paola Bonfante; Marc-Andre Selosse (2009). "Ectomycorrhizal Inocybe species associate with the mycoheterotrophic orchid Epipogium aphyllum but not its asexual propagules". Annals of Botany. 104 (3): 595–610. doi:10.1093/aob/mcn269. PMC 2720653. PMID 19155220.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]