The orchid thief
By: Susan Orlean.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Random House
Published: 1998
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 284
Subjects: Laroche, John.; Orlean, Susan.; Nursery growers -- Florida -- Hollywood -- Biography.; Plant collectors -- Florida -- Hollywood -- Biography.; Polyradicion lindenii -- Florida -- Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve -- Anecdotes.
Description: The orchid thief in Susan Orlean's true story of beauty and obsession is John Laroche, a renegade plant dealer and sharply handsome guy, in spite of the fact that he is missing his front teeth and has the posture of al dente spaghetti. In 1994, Laroche and three Seminole Indians were arrested with rare orchids they had stolen from a wild swamp in south Florida that is filled with some of the world's most extraordinary plants and trees.

Laroche had planned to clone the orchids and then sell them for a small fortune to impassioned collectors. After he was caught in the act, Laroche set off one of the oddest legal controversies in recent memory, which brought together environmentalists, Native American activists, and devoted orchid collectors. The result is a tale that is strange, compelling, and hilarious.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [283]-284).