The Gold of Kinabalu: orchid treasure on the edge of extinction

Ruthless hunters track their prey around the globe, snatching stunning individuals from their homes before they can even be named.

The beauties only surface in the shadiest of nurseries and high prices for their lives are agreed under the counter by hungry-eyed collectors.

This is not the plot from a harrowing tale of people smuggling but the fate of rare and highly prized orchids.

The plants have inspired frenzied collection since the 18th century with their lustrous blooms and incredible variety.

Now, scientists say the illegal collection of orchids is pushing species to the edge of extinction, with dire consequences for biodiversity.

With some vulnerable species available on the black market before they can even be formally named, biologists and customs officers alike are battling to preserve the captivating plants.

Sex appeal

Admired for their beauty, orchids make up the largest family of flowering plants (Orchidaceae) with over 26,000 species.

The plants vary enormously from tiny 3-4mm Bulbophyllum minutissimum to 20m long vanillas: lianas that grow high up in rainforest.

What unites them is the unique way they germinate from seeds, developing a tuberous mass of cells to form a seedling plant.

For orchid admirers however it is the sensual differences between the plants that inspire such admiration and many are driven wild by the unique shape, scent and sight of new species.

Victorian Britons referred to the condition as “orchidelerium”, an insatiable lust for collecting the plants.

From delicate ghost orchids to the beautifully coloured petals of Cattleya, the aesthetic appeal of orchids is obvious.

Throughout history the plants have been considered “overtly sexual” with voluptuous blooms sporting enlarged lips (labellum): pouting platforms to entice insect pollinators.

But the individuality and appeal of orchids also makes them vulnerable.

“Orchids are naturally rare with many species only being known from a handful of populations,” says orchid expert Dr David Roberts from the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology at the University of Kent, UK.

“Smuggling only affects the groups that are specifically in demand which isn’t all orchids. However for the groups that are sought after, such as slipper orchids, it is a big problem.”

High price

Rare species can fetch a pretty penny; a single stem of the Rotchschild’s Orchid (Paphiopedilum rothschildianum), known as the Gold of Kinabalu, is reported to command prices of around $5000.

After its discovery in 1987 this slipper orchid, remarkable for its imposing horizontal petals, was stripped from the wild by orchid smugglers bringing it close to extinction.

Despite reintroduction of the plant from cultivated seedlings, it is still described as endangered and its few known wild locations in Kinabalu National Park in Sabah, Malaysia are kept a closely guarded secret.

However, not all species are afforded the same protection.

Last year, Asian orchid expert Dr Jaap J Vermeulen studied an orchid collected by conservationists in a national park in Sarawak, Malaysia.

But before he could describe the new species to science, it had been introduced to the black market.

“Bulbophyllum kubahense is a particularly beautiful species with a dense [cluster] of fairly large, white, heavily purple spotted flowers. That makes it desirable to orchid growers,” Dr Vermeulen explains.

“Traders found the species in a conservation area, and first thought that is was a particularly luxuriant form of another, similar looking species… Plants appeared in nurseries in Sarawak, Singapore and Thailand.”

Through his analysis, published in the journal Plant Systematics and Evolution, Dr Vermeulen confirmed that the plant was a “true novelty”.

“It is beautiful, and it is rare: only known from a single locality near Kuching, Sarawak. That will put the price up, and with it the collecting pressure on the natural population,” he warns.

Populations stripped

This is not the first time an orchid has been endangered before it has even been formally described.

Such is the demand from collectors, smugglers scour the globe for new species of orchid, sometimes removing whole populations of plants before anyone else knows of their existence.

Dr Vermeulen cites examples from peninsular Malaysia and Vietnam but the most famous example comes from Peru.

Phragmipedium kovachii was first found in 2001 and is referred to as one of the most important natural history discoveries of the last decade.

A foot tall with striking purple blooms, it is a distinctive member of the lady’s slipper family, named for their slipper-shaped petal pouches.

Orchid dealer James Kovach bought the orchid from a roadside vendor in Peru and travelled back to his native US with it.

Within days, the Peruvian authorities asked the US Fish and Wildlife Service to investigate the plant, as all Phragmipedium are banned from export under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

After its initial description, illegally plucked specimens of P. kovachii were reportedly changing hands amongst frenzied growers for as much as $10,000.

Kovach received two years probation and was made to pay a fine of $1000 for violating the endangered species act.

Experts and customs officers join forces to protect vulnerable

The orchid still bears the name kovachii but is now limited to a few authorised growers in Peru.

Although conservationists acknowledge the prosecution, they say the fines are not high enough to deter smugglers from their billion dollar enterprise.

“To a dedicated collector of wild-sourced orchids, price has no bearing,” says Dr Richard Thomas, from the wildlife trade monitoring network Traffic International.

Dr Thomas says it is “notoriously difficult” to estimate the value of illicit trade.
Ruthless collection

According to Traffic’s figures, the legal trade in live orchids in Europe alone involves more than 370 million plants.

These orchids adhere to the CITES regulations: they come from licensed nurseries that hold the appropriate permits for international trade.

In these nurseries, single specimens are duplicated through micropropagation: creating thousands of cloned plants for the consumer market.

Despite advances, this process is costly and time-consuming.

The cloned plants are also considered inferior by collectors that value the variety in wild orchids’ blooms.

“There are a small number of hard core ‘collectors’ for whom only a wild-sourced orchid will do, and they can be ruthless in their pursuit of this goal,” says Dr Thomas.

“This can have a devastating impact on newly discovered species, where there is likely to be a demand created for the plant almost overnight.”
Protecting the future

The UK’s rarest orchid, Cypripedium calceolus, receives round-the-clock police surveillance where it grows on a Lancashire golf course.

But this level of protection is not globally consistent.

In the rainforests of South America and Asia, protecting individual species is an epic task.

Beyond the practical difficulties of surveying entire rainforests with limited resources, conservationists also have to contend with the pressures of developing nations.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s orchid specialist group, tropical orchid habitat is vanishing as timber is removed, minerals mined and land cleared for roads and housing.

Some collectors insist that, by removing orchids from areas under threat from human development, they are protecting the future of species.

For some orchids, their only hope lies in ex-situ conservation: cultivation in nurseries is the only thing keeping species like Paphiopedilum vietnamenese from extinction.

In the interests of biodiversity however, conservationists maintain that orchids must be protected in their natural environment.

“For species with highly restricted ranges and severely threatened habitat, any removal of wild specimens poses a significant threat,” says Dr Thomas.

“The loss of any one species is a tragedy – the world needs rich biological diversity to survive. Species have taken millennia to evolve, but can be lost in days.”

The 2010 Taipei International Flora Exposition opens on November 6, 2010, and runs through April 11, 2011. It’ll take place on a series of sites in the Yuanshan area of Taipei City, Taiwan, that will be linked by shuttle buses during the expo: Yuanshan Park, the Taipei Fine Arts Park, Xinsheng Park and Da-jia Riverside Park.

Featuring a theme of “Rivers, Flowers, New Horizons”, the Expo will include 14 exhibition halls, each with its own unique style, spread across an area of 91.8 hectares. The show is authorized by the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH).

Ticket rates can be viewed here:
http://ticket.2010taipeiexpo.tw/English/ticket04.php

Tickets can be purchased online here too:
http://www.ticket.com.tw/dm-en9835.asp

For hotels nearby the Expo, you can check out the selections from SinoTour.com:
http://sinotour.com/tourguide/2010taipeiexpo/expo-dome.asp

Here are some beautiful pictures snapped by photographer Marc Gerritsen.

Via InsuranceOnline.my

Tokyo Marunouchi Flower Weeks 2009
Japan’s Largest Flower Event
“Japan Flower Festival” comes to Flower Weeks in 2009!

The Tokyo Marunouchi Flower Weeks 2009
and
The Japan Flower Festival 2009 in Tokyo Marunouchi

Date: Tuesday, April 21 – Sunday, April 26, 2009

Venue: Tokyo’s Marunouchi area

Estimated number of visitors: 300,000

Organizers: The Executive Committee of Japan Flower Weeks
TEL: 03-5840-1705 / FAX: 03-5840-1901
E-mail: info@marunouchi-flowerweeks.com

Back by popular demand! Marunouchi is thrilled to announce the second annual “Tokyo Marunouchi Flower Weeks 2009” in bloom throughout the Marunouchi area in April 2009. The concept of Flower Weeks is to bring beautiful flowers and plants to the city. The event will showcase a wide array of exotic flowers that will bring Marunouchi to life!

And that’s not all! To coincide with Marunouchi Flower Weeks 2009, the legendary Japan Flower Festival, which is Japan’s largest flower event, will be held in Tokyo Marunouchi. This colorful festival of flowers from across Japan will be displayed for six days and will provide the latest information on flowers and planting and gardening techniques.

One Flower Weeks 2009 display not to be missed is the Japanese wisteria viewing garden. Famous wisteria trees from Ashikaga Flower Park, the world’s leading wisteria garden, will fill the garden with their beauty and splendor. In mid-April, after the end of the cherry blossom season, visitors to Marunouchi will be able to enjoy the spectacular view of this wisteria garden in full bloom. Also not to be missed are the Marunouchi Flower Market, the Japan Flower Selection and the Pre-Flower Boutique.

The Marunouchi area, quickly evolving as Japan’s gateway and Tokyo showcase, welcomes you to enjoy the spring oasis!

1) Floral Street
Venue: Marunouchi Naka–dori Avenue
Marunouchi Naka–dori, which links Marunouchi with Otemachi and Yurakucho and lined with luxury-brand shop, will transform into a colorful floral street with over 130 hanging flower baskets.

2) Wisteria Viewing Garden
Venue: Marunouchi Building
The wisteria trees in blossom from Ashikaga Flower Park, the world’s leading wisteria garden, will turn the exterior of the Marunouchi Building into a wisteria viewing garden overnight.

3) Marunouchi Flower Market
Venue: Exterior of the Marunouchi Building
Professional florists will be selling flowers and giving tips on how to transform your own home into a beautiful garden.

Wisteria Viewing Garden

1) Brand Nippon Booth ~ Japanese flowers are beautiful ~
Venue: MARUCUBE, 1st floor in the Marunouchi building and Gyoko Basement Gallery.
Prefectures from across Japan famous for the production of flowers will have their finest flowers and plants on display.

2) Pre-Flower Boutique
Venue: The Galleria 3rd floor in the Marunouchi Building.
The Galleria will be transformed into a boutique selling handbags, footwear, dresses, accessories, sweets, and paintings, all made from preserved flowers.

3) Japan Flower Selection
Award-winning flowers will be displayed in the Gyoko Basement Gallery. Japan Flower Selection began in April 2006 to meet new and exciting flower cultivators. Approximately 50 to 100 certified new flower cultivators, including cut flowers, potted flowers and plants will be displayed.

4) Centenary Carnations
100 breeds of carnations will be on display.
Venue: Gyoko Basement Gallery
2009 marks the 100th anniversary of the first carnations imported to Japan. Since then, the production and sales of carnations have been in high demand. The special event will commemorate the 100th anniversary of carnations in Japan.

5) Designers Square
Venue: Gyoko Basement Gallery
Flower designers, florists and flower arrangement specialists will display their artistic displays and arrangements.

6) World Flowers Market
Venue: Gyoko Basement Gallery
New breeds and the latest imports and new materials from overseas will be fashionably displayed.

* Please be advised that some programs are subject to change.

Tokyo Marunouchi Flower Weeks & Japan Flower Festival 2009 Map

Source: Japan National Tourism Organization