Peter Zale, associate director of conservation, plant breeding, and collections at Longwood Gardens, says the library services director spotted the plant's eye-catching fruit glowing like small, red bananas.
"Cyrtosia Septentrionalis, which is a native of Japan, growing in a woodlot right behind our production greenhouses," he said.
Which is pretty remarkable, because it'd never been found in the U.S., and in Japan, the orchid's considered impossible to cultivate.
So how'd this plant get there? Zale says he and his colleagues have a theory.
"In the case that this orchid starts moving around a little bit more, and shows up in other areas, we'll think very hard about managing it, or even eradicating it," Zale said.
But for now, they're left to marvel at the discovery.
"It's really remarkable. We've talked to experts in this particular group of orchids and others, and they're all just totally flabbergasted by the presence of this orchid in our woods," he added.