07-04-2005, 07:01 AM
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wrote:
Since 1990, the Botanical Garden has been federally designated as one
of 73 plan-rescue centers in the country. Ms. Powell's phone call could
not have come at a worse time, since the horticultural staff was
toiling on the Botanical Garden's popular orchid show, which ended
March 27. "But conservation takes precedence for us," said Todd
Forrest, an associate vice president who is in charge of the
horticultural division.
Orchids, fabled for their extravagant beauty, belong to the most highly
evolved and complex flowering-plant family, which has 30,000 wild
species. Some of the plants in the Miami shipment that have been
identified are worth $500 or more, and the entire collection could be
worth in the tens of thousands of dollars.
A few of the plants, called Vanda ustii, have only recently been
described by scientists. Among the other discoveries so far is a small
specimen of Grammatophyllum speciosum, a member of the world's largest
known orchid species that, when mature, can have plants weighing
several tons.
I especially like the modesty of the first paragraph here ("But
conservation takes precedence for us") in conjunction with the last two
paragraphs. How altruistic...I can see them drooling now.
--
Reka
This is LIFE! It's not a rehearsal. Don't miss it!
http://www.rolbox.it/hukari/index.html
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