Phragmipedium kovachii

I am currently reading Orchid Fever by Eric Hansen. More on that later, but suffice to say for now that I am quite shocked at the underbelly of the orchid world, particularly with regards to stories and events surrounding orchid trade and greenhouse raids.

On that theme, last month I discovered this post from the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research weblog surrounding the recently discovered Phragmipedium kovachii, it's discoverer, James Michael Kovach, and Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Florida. You can read a more detailed account of this orchid scandal in an article entitled A whiff of scandal in the St. Petersburg Times Online.

Also, as posted on the UBC Botanical Gardens blog, some gorgeous pictures of Phragmipedium kovachii from the Peruvian Orchid Society.