Cigar Orchid

Common Name: Cigar Orchid

Scientific Name: Cyrtopodium punctatum

Origin: Southern Florida

Family: Orchidaceae

Bloom time: March - June

Southern Florida’s Cigar Orchid (Cyrtopodium punctatum) is one of many rare orchids growing in the tissue culture lab and greenhouse. In the 1940s, healthy populations of this orchid were nearly decimated in Florida through loss of habitat and harvesting by collectors.

In 2007, the Garden was asked by the state of Florida to assist in recovery efforts of the Cigar Orchid within the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park. At the time, fewer than 20 orchids were growing in the park.

In 2009, the first orchid capsule was harvested and sent to the tissue culture lab where staff and dedicated volunteers propagated plants for recovery. Since then, the recovery team has established nearly 1,000 new Orchids in the preserve where it conducts research to monitor survival and map the project’s success.