Day 274: There is a reason I am showing you another photo of Cephalanthera austiniae today. I want to embed it firmly in your minds so that you can tell your children and grandchildren that you've seen pictures of them growing in the wild, that you knew someone who stood beside the actual living plants in an obscure corner of Mount Rainier's forests. In the last 24 hours, I have read two articles which say that Phantoms will vanish by 2100 AD, victims of climate change. Cephalanthera is not the only species of holomycotrophic orchid threatened by global warming, but in scientific studies, it has been shown that it is perhaps one of the most vulnerable to rising temperatures and loss of habitat. Does that tell you why I am so close-mouthed about their location? And does it not wrench your heart to contemplate their almost-certain loss? I've often used the phrase "everything is holding hands with something else" when discussing the natural world. It would seem that Cephalanthera is losing its grip. And then what, people? We're already sliding down the slippery slope toward our own demise as a species and, I hasten to remind you, we greased the skids and are continuing to lavish on fresh oil.
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