On-line charity auction opens for bids on ‘priceless’ rare orchids from the Cayman Islands

    

Britain’s green-fingered enthusiasts are being offered a one-off chance to support two of the worlds rarest orchids and to visit them in person whilst also supporting the Make-A-Wish Charity. The Wild Banana Orchid and the extremely rare Ghost Orchid are growing in The Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park on Grand Cayman. Once nearly extinct, the rare Ghost Orchid (Dendrophylax fawcettii), is native only to Grand Cayman and it is believed that it has never been seen on English soil.

The highest bidder is to be permanently recognised by the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park in the Cayman Islands with two plaques in honour of their charitable contribution. The Wild Banana Orchid can be seen growing in the visitor centre at the entrance to the Botanic Park, which is one of the most popular tourist attractions on the island of Grand Cayman, and regarded as the finest Botanic Park in the Caribbean. A plaque to recognise our highest bidder will also be placed by the incredibly rare Ghost Orchid which grows on the Park’s Woodland Trail, originally opened by Her Majesty The Queen in 1994.

WIN A DREAM TRIP TO SEE YOUR OWN RARE, ENDEMIC ORCHID GROWING IN ITS NATURAL HABITAT ALONGSDIE THE RAREST LIZARD IN THE WORLD

The successful bidder will then be invited, with a partner, on a dream holiday to see the orchids growing in the very specialist conditions that they require. The holiday will be a week on Grand Cayman, staying at the Marriott Beach Resort on the world-famous Seven Mile Beach. As well as a formal tour by the Botanic Park’s Director, Andrew Guthrie, you will also be given a private tour of the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme which brought the world’s greatest lizards back from functional extinction. The Cayman Islands are renowned for its underwater marine life too, with some of the greatest snorkel and dive spots in the world. The ultimate thrill for our bidders will be swimming with up to 100 friendly Caribbean stingrays in open water in the Caribbean Sea – one of the greatest wildlife experiences in the world. To add the finishing touch to the holiday, we are also including an adrenalin pumping helicopter tour over the island to see the Cayman’s pristine reef systems and dense mangrove swamps from a bird’s eye view.

The holiday to this beautiful destination, originally called ‘Las Tortugas’ by Christopher Columbus upon his discovery in 1503, includes international flights for two from London Heathrow, seven nights’ accommodation in a twin or double room, and breakfast each day.

The Wild Banana Orchid (Myrmecophila thomsoniana) was chosen as the National Flower by the people of the Cayman Islands on Earth Day in 1996. Like the Ghost Orchid, it is endemic to The Cayman Islands, meaning that it grows nowhere else in the world. The orchid gets its ‘common name’ from the large green or yellow banana shaped pseudobulbs at the base of the plant.

The rarer of the two plants, the Ghost Orchid (Dendrophylax fawcettii), is native only to Grand Cayman and should not be mixed up with a similarly named, more commonly known, but extremely rare, orchid that grows in Florida. The Ghost Orchid is an epiphytic plant that consists of grayish-green roots from which beautiful creamy white flowers emerge in May and June. The orchid is devoid of leaves and when in flower, emits a delightful fragrance that attracts moths to pollinate in the late evenings.

The Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park, which covers 65 acres and was first opened by Her Majesty the Queen in 1994, has been instrumental in the growth and protection of both the Wild Banana Orchid and the Ghost Orchid and is home to the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme which has brought one of the world’s most endangered reptile back from functional extinction.

Proceeds from the sale of this auction item go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation UK and the Cayman Islands' Blue Iguana Recovery programme.

For more information about the Cayman Islands, call the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism on 020 7491 7771 or visit www.caymanislands.co.uk. Other useful websites are www.nationaltrust.org.ky and www.botanic-park.ky

For further information please contact:
Susie de Carteret or Laura Shelbourne
Juicy Communications Ltd
Tel: +44 (0) 1534 728 728
Mob: + 44 (0) 7797742541
Email: cayman@juicycommunications.co.uk         

        

29-Apr-08