It’s a cold winter day, and I’m exploring an old forest of oaks, tulip poplars and beech trees in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.

I’m with Dennis Whigham, an ecologist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, hunting for orchids. Many of the 25,000 known species of these flowers are threatened or endangered, in part because their complex lifecycle is vulnerable to disruptions caused by development.

<p>It&rsquo;s a cold winter day, and I&rsquo;m exploring an old forest of oaks, tulip poplars and beech trees in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.</p>
<p>I&rsquo;m with Dennis Whigham, an ecologist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, hunting for orchids. Many of the 25,000 known species of these flowers are threatened or endangered, in part because their complex lifecycle is vulnerable to disruptions caused by development.</p>

The Environment in Focus, hosted by Tom Pelton, is a weekly perspective on the issues and people changing our natural world.  Pelton is a national award-winning environmental journalist, author, and public radio host.

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