Acampe longifolia is an orchid that is native to tropical Asia.  The orchid family includes about 20,000 species found in almost every terrestrial ecosystem on earth.  However, all orchids are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Why is such a large and widely-distributed plant family the focus of worldwide conservation concern? Orchids rely on extremely specialized pollination mechanisms and associations with specific soil fungi in order to reproduce and grow. Many orchid habitats are threatened by logging, agriculture, development, and illegal collection of wild plants, all of which upset the extremely delicate ecological balance that must be maintained for orchids to survive and reproduce.  This specimen of Acampe longifolia is one of more than 1800 plants at the U.S. Botanic Garden received through the CITES Plant Rescue Center Program.  To read more about this program visit the following web page:

http://www.usbg.gov/plant-collections/conservation/Plant-Rescue-Center-Program.cfm