Auction of Cayman Islands' orchids
Green-fingered enthusiasts are being given the chance to bid for two of the world’s rarest orchids. The Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park on Grand Cayman is bringing over its national flower, the wild banana orchid, and the extremely rare ghost orchid ro its Chelsea garden. This is a debut appearance for the Cayman Islands at Chelsea and, to the best of anyone’s knowledge, the first time that two of the Islands’ three endemic orchids have been on display in the UK. It is believed that the ghost orchid has never been seen on British soil before.
After the show, on 25 May, the orchids, which are described as 'priceless to a collector', will be auctioned through the online charity auction site Charity2Charity.com, with proceeds going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation UK and the Cayman Islands’ Blue Iguana Recovery programme.
Andrew Guthrie of the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park, regarded as one of the leading horticulturists in the Caribbean, says: “It is next to impossible to place a value on the orchids as they are not commercially available; however predictions from professionals in the British horticultural industry predict that together, to a collector, they could be worth up to £250,000. Trade regulations prohibit taking wild orchids away from the Cayman Islands, so this really is the only chance for anyone in the UK with a passion for orchids to add them to their collection.”