Plant experts floored after this 'ghost' makes its first appearance in over a decade: 'There is always hope'

One of the world's rarest and most sought-after flowers — the European ghost orchid — has been found in England for the first time since 2009, the Guardian reported.

The European ghost orchid (scientific name: Epipogium aphyllum) is so rare that it was declared extinct in 2009 after having not been seen in 22 years. However, that classification was short-lived, as one was found a week later.

The most recent European ghost orchid was found by dental surgeon and orchid enthusiast Richard Bate, who spent the past 30 years searching for one, the Guardian said. This ghost orchid grows deep in the woods, away from sunlight, and feeds on nutrients from underground fungi.

"[The] ghost orchid has long been the holy grail for British botanists," Professor Ian Denholm, one of the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland's two national expert referees on orchids, told the Guardian. "There was a brief flurry of records in the 1960s and 1970s, and I was lucky enough to see a single specimen in the mid-1980s. Since then, I reckon only six people have knowingly observed it in the wild in Britain. It is wonderful news that it has reappeared and let's hope it does again."

If the name "ghost orchid" sounds familiar, that might be because the American ghost orchid — which is native to Florida — was the subject of the 1998 Susan Orlean book "The Orchid Thief," as well as that book's critically acclaimed unconventional film adaptation, "Adaptation." The two ghost orchids are separate species, but both are incredibly rare, with the European species even rarer.

The location of the European ghost orchid discovered by Bate is being kept secret to keep it safe from other enthusiasts and poachers.

"Knowing that the ghost orchid is still here and hasn't gone extinct in Britain fills me with hope for the future of this species," Bate told the Guardian. "This discovery reminds us that even in the darkest woods, there is always hope."

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