The Orchid Brief

I read the book “The Orchid Thief” when I was in the middle of my fascination phase with orchids. After reading the book and seeing the movie Adaptation (based on the book), I was hooked. I knew I wanted to see orchids in their natural habitat.

I moved to Florida in 2017 where I lived for two years. The Fakahatchee Strand in the everglades was near top of the list of places to visit. In January 2018, I drove from Tampa south to everglades for a weekend. I chose January since this would be a more tolerable time weatherwise. There are also fewer alligators in the waters since they are more likely to be found sunning to warm their ectothermic systems.

In addition to a few self-guided tours in the everglades, I signed up for a “swamp walk” in the Fakahatchee. We were instructed to wear long pants and sturdy shoes to wade in the swamp waters. The morning of the walk, I met up with a few other intrepid visitors at the ranger station where Ranger Mike gleefully introduced the strand and briefed us on the plan for the day. It was simple – walk in the swamp and keep your eyes out for alligators. Along the way, we would see several different plant species, plenty of insects, and if we were lucky some of the local big animal inhabitants.

Me pictured at the ranger station prior to the Fakahatchee Strand swamp walk

We boarded a 4-wheel drive Range Rover and drove down a dirt path to find a suitable entrance to begin our swamp walk. Once we entered the swamp, paradise started to reveal itself: countless orchids, abundant bromeliads, cypress "knees" and royal palms. The swamp was dense and draped with ropy plant life and spiky air plants glued to tree trunks, and there were more spiders than alligators. It felt great to walk on spongy soil through cool, knee-deep swamp water for hours just to glimpse at unique native plants, many of which are now endangered.

The rare leafless ribbon orchid (named for the flat root system) seen here with seed pods

Swamp walkers with Ranger Mike leading the way

Vanilla orchid vines that reached several feet long

The movie Adaptation revolved around the elusive ghost orchid. Knowing this was a stretch to see with so few plants remaining, on top of being out of bloom in January, it was not on our list to hunt. This was eclipsed by the fact that we saw at least half a dozen other orchid species, including the yellow helmet orchid, which was said to be rarer than the ghost orchid (although we did see multiple plants during our walk). We remained gator-free in the swamps, but we did have a chance to see one on the side of the road.

The yellow helmet orchid seen throughout the swamp walk

Cypress knee growing out of the water from the root system of the bald cypress to help stabilize and absorb oxygen

After the swamp walk, I headed to Everglades City for lunch. I enjoyed lush waterside views at a pink and teal café called Camellia Street Grill where I had an Islamadora session IPA to wash down a very satisfying experience.   

Islamadora IPA at Camellia Street Cafe in Everglades City