"there are 44 different species in Maryland... interesting facts available to visitors of the Plant Ecology Laboratory at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center[SERC] in Edgewater. One of the main missions of scientists there is to study orchids and their unique relationships with fungi...
Participants in... 2½-hour "Maryland Orchids" workshop will have the chance to learn about the lab before going on a guided hike to look for the plants on SERC's property. There are eight orchid species... Among them are the cranefly orchid, rattlesnake orchid and the putty root orchid, which are the only ones visible now, appearing only as small greenish leaves close to the ground. All three will bloom in late spring or summer. "(The workshop will provide) people with the chance to learn about... our research." [said Karen McDonald, outreach coordinator at SERC. ] ... In the lab, researchers are growing different types of the fungi the orchids feed on, and looking deep into plant biology, often starting at the cellular level... One of the reasons that the study of orchids is important is because several species are threatened [... Dennis Whigham, deputy director of the center and a plant ecologist]... said. By understanding more about the fungi and how different conditions in the soil impact the organisms, the hope is the plants can be helped. The vast majority of orchids continue to feed on fungi throughout their lives, and it's absolutely necessary until they produce leaves - something that could take as little as six months or up to 10 years, said research scientist... Melissa McCormick. Some species are adaptable to several different types of fungi. One found at SERC, though, relies solely on fungi found in rotting wood... Most orchid seeds... can survive in the soil for years; even over a decade in some cases. "They're just sitting there waiting for the right fungus to come along and wake them up,"... McCormick said." URL : http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/03_09-36/LIF *************** Regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) orchids@orchidguide.com http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
