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Black Orchid - Fredclarkeara Black Lace ‘Baker’s Dark Angel’ 

In nature, black flowers are rare. The reality is that there is almost no plant in the world that is truly black in color. Most are shades of deep blue or reds or purples. This is also true about orchid flowers. Growers and hybridizers have tried many different orchid plants and hybrid orchid varieties to try to get to a truly black flower.

Among the most notable hybrids (since 2010) with truly black flowers (currently commercially available from Sunset Valley Orchids) you can find Fredclarkeara (Asparagales - Orchidaceae), an intergeneric hybrid between the orchid genera Catasetum, Clowesia and Mormodes. (Ctsm. x Cl. x Morm.).

The Fredclarkeara breeding produces flowers that are fragrant, have lots of color and are long lasting. As you can see on this one in the photo, the Fredclarkeara Black Lace ‘Baker’s Dark Angel’ is indeed black.

References: [1] - [2]

Lady of the Lighthouse

- Paranormal Photos – Fact or Fiction - A cell phone tower technician had a friend take a picture of him as he sat perched atop a 300ft tower. In the background was the St Augustine Lighthouse, though it was barely visible. After that first photo was taken the technician took back his phone in order to take a picture himself, this time zoomed right into the St Augustine Lighthouse. The phone was then put away. Later that night the pair went back through the photos they had taken that day and were surprised to see someone standing on the walkway atop the lighthouse. They know no one was there when the photo was taken. If it is not a flesh and blood, living, breathing person, then who or what is it? The image certainly shows that something is there but what it is I really can not tell. One can make out the shape of a dress and long hair as the figure seems to look out in the distance. Or it could be just about anything else in what is essentially a lot of blurry pixels. Still many regard this as a great capture at one of Florida’s most haunted locations. St Augustine Lighthouse is just one of several that have stood in the area, with the first been lit in about 1737. The first lighthouse was in danger of damage and collapse by the eroding beach, so, in 1871, the lighthouse seen today, the ‘second tower’, began construction. This lighthouse has seen tragedy many times, with deaths befalling keepers and their families, but in July, 1873, the most notorious of tragedies is said to have taken place. During construction of the lighthouse ('second tower’) a cart of some sort (cable or hand) was used to help transport materials for the workers. The superintendent of the construction allowed his children (and a friend or two) to ride the cart for some fun. Unfortunately, on the 10th of July, the cart and five children playing inside went off the pier and into the water. Only two were rescued – three young girls perished in the accident. Many people have reported strange phenomena at the St Augustine Lighthouse - voices heard when no one else is around, shadow forms and several apparitions including that of a woman on the lighthouse stairs and a man who seems to roam about, keeping watch over things. Two young girls have also been reported up on the catwalk near the top of the tower. This location has so much history and haunting tales that we shall look at those in a seperate piece down the line. Was a ghostly woman captured in this photo? Could it just be a living person overlooked when the photo was taken? Maybe its an outright hoax, a image manipulation? Or maybe something else entirely? Fact or Fiction, you decide! Ashley Hall - The Paranormal Guide 2014 Photo: The original picture. Inset upper: Zoomed in to show… well not a lot. Inset Lower: The stairs where a ghostly woman has been seen on many occasions.