topic: Orchids

topic: Orchids

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It’s tough to be a wild orchid: Interview with conservation biologist Reshu Bashyal
- Conservation biologist Reshu Bashyal highlights gaps in Nepal’s implementation of CITES regulations, leading to ineffective protection measures.
- Nepal’s transition to a federal system has brought challenges and opportunities for orchid conservation, with local communities often unaware of conservation needs.
- Protected areas struggle to prioritize plant conservation alongside charismatic megafauna, while road construction further fragments orchid habitats.
- Bashyal emphasizes the importance of raising awareness about the significance of wild plants and updating inventories to guide conservation efforts.

‘Mind-blowing’ new orchid species found in Madagascar forest canopy
- Scientists from Madagascar, the U.S. and Europe have described a new orchid species from the forests of central Madagascar, which has a record-breaking long nectar spur relative to its small flower size.
- The orchid is pollinated by a species of hawkmoth with a very long tongue, similar to Darwin’s orchid, which was predicted to exist by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace in the 1800s.
- Habitat of the newly described orchid species is threatened deforestation and mining activities, especially from the Ambatovy nickel and cobalt mine nearby, though Ambatovy is funding conservation actions to protect the species.
- Madagascar’s unique biodiversity, including many species found nowhere else on Earth, is under serious threat from rapid deforestation driven by agriculture, fires and mining.

Bangladesh orchid losses signal ecological imbalance, researchers say
- Bangladesh has lost 32 orchid species from nature in the last hundred years out of 188 once-available species.
- Habitat destruction, overharvesting, and indiscriminate collection for sale in local and international markets cause the disappearance, researchers say.
- Considering the unique position of orchids in the ecosystem and their herbal, horticultural and aesthetic value, researchers consider this loss alarming.

Newly described leafless orchid in Sri Lanka named after a precious yellow sapphire
- A new leafless ground orchid found in a lowland wet zone forest in Sri Lanka has been named after a precious yellow sapphire as Gastrodia pushparaga, a gemstone commonly extracted from the same district.
- This is the third Gastrodia species found in Sri Lanka, after the 1906 identification of G. zeylanica and G. gunatillekeorum, described in 2020, 114 years later.
- The plant grows in Walankanda, a forest frontier in the island’s intermediate zone with unique characteristics that will likely make these plants susceptible to future climate change impacts earlier than other wet zone rainforest plants.
- Tea plantations being the main prompt for forest fragmentation in the area, an ambitious project aims to create an ecological land corridor through neglected tea estates, linking the forest where the orchid was first found with another fragmented forest patch.

Illegal orchid trade threatens Nepal’s ‘tigers of the plant world’
- Roughly 500 orchid species grow in Nepal’s forests, including a rare pale purple beauty that attracts thousands of pilgrims each April.
- Orchids are among the most diverse and charismatic plant groups in the world, and they are threatened by illegal and unsustainable trade, largely for Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine.
- Kathmandu-based NGO Greenhood Nepal has a project that outlines key steps for government agencies to take in efforts to curb illegal and unsustainable trade in Nepal’s orchids.

Top 15 species discoveries from 2021 (Photos)
- Science has only just begun to find and describe all of the species on Earth; by some estimates, only 20% have been described.
- This year, Mongabay reported on newly described species from nearly every continent, including an Ecuadoran ant whose name broke the gender binary, an acrobatic North American skunk, an Australian “killer tobacco,” a fuzzy orange bat from West Africa, tiny screech owls from Brazil, and more.
- Though a species may be new to science, that doesn’t mean it has not yet been found and given a name by local and Indigenous communities.

Mining and logging threaten a wildlife wonderland on a Philippine mountain
- Mount Busa on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao is among the most biodiverse and most threatened ecological areas in the country.
- It’s a key biodiversity area and a known bird conservation area, considered one of the last remaining strongholds of the critically endangered and nationally important Philippine eagle (Phitecophaga jefferyi).
- Despite its ecological importance, the mountain has enjoyed little protection, with only the topmost slopes falling under a local conservation zone.
- To protect the area, environmentalists and local officials are pushing to legalize and strengthen the mountain’s protection by including it in the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas Systems (E-NIPAS).

New orchid species from Guiana Highlands named by Indigenous group
- An orchid species new to science has been described from the Guiana Highlands in Venezuela and Brazil.
- Members of the Pemón Arekuna Indigenous community of Paruima named the species in their native language.
- The researcher who described the new orchid advocates for “de-colonizing science nomenclature and giving more representation to Indigenous [and] local languages.”

Top 15 species discoveries from 2020 (Photos)
- In 2020, Mongabay and others reported on several announcements of species new to science.
- Snakes, insects, many new orchids, frogs, and even a few mammals were named in 2020.
- In no particular order, we present our 15 top picks.

[Photos] Tiny frog, venomous viper among 20 new species described in Bolivia
- An expedition into the cloud forests of the Bolivian Andes has uncovered 20 species new to science including a frog smaller than a coin, a new venomous pit viper, four butterflies, and four orchid species.
- Along with the newly described species, the research team also “rediscovered” four species believed to be extinct, including the devil-eyed frog not seen for 20 years.
- Overall, the expedition in the Zongo Valley near La Paz, Bolivia, uncovered rich diversity and endemism and recorded more than 1,200 plants, 247 insects, 10 amphibians, 10 reptiles, 161 birds, nine small terrestrial mammals, nine large mammals, and 12 species of bats.
- The Zongo Valley contributes drinking water and hydroelectric energy for the cities of La Paz and El Alto and is known to provide important ecosystem services. The report calls for urgent measures for formal conservation of this largely intact ecosystem.

On a Philippine mountain, researchers describe a ‘fire flower’ orchid species
- A new wild orchid species, Dendrochilum ignisiflorum, has been described in the Philippine province of Benguet in the northern Cordilleras mountain range.
- This fiery orange orchid belongs to a genus found in high-elevation forests in Southeast Asia, particularly in the Philippines, Borneo and Sumatra.
- The scientists who described it say the species is threatened by climate change, which could make its niche range uninhabitable.
- The mountain where it’s found is also an increasingly popular tourist spot, while the forests in the area around it are being cleared for agriculture.

From a Sri Lankan rainforest, a new species of orchid blooms
- A rare new orchid species found in the UNESCO-declared heritage lowland rainforest Sinharaja has been named in honor of two pioneering forest ecologists, Nimal and Savithri Gunatilleke.
- The botanists who described Gastrodia gunatillekeorum discovered only three small populations within Sinharaja, comprising fewer than a hundred mature individuals and considered endangered.
- Any change in the habitat condition is likely to bring change in the fungus community, and by extension to the orchid populations that depend on these fungi for their nutrition, the researchers say.

Wild orchid trade in China is huge, overlooked and ‘devastating,’ study finds
- In just one year of survey, researchers recorded more than 400 species of wild-caught orchids, involving 1.2 million individual plants worth potentially more than $14.6 million, being traded at markets in southern China.
- At least some of the trade is illegal and in breach of CITES regulations, the study found.
- Traders frequently sell non-native species of orchids. Moreover, native species that either have very small populations or have probably gone extinct in China also appear in the markets, suggesting they are likely being sourced from neighboring countries.

Mysterious plants that thrive in darkness, steal food: Q&A with botanist Kenji Suetsugu
- On Japan’s forest floors, there are plants that stay hidden and have given up on photosynthesis. These mycoheterotrophic plants are instead parasitic, drawing nutrition from the network of fungi running under the forest floor.
- For the past 10 years, Kenji Suetsugu, a botanist and associate professor at Japan’s Kobe University, has been on a mission to identify and document mycoheterotrophic plants across the country’s. His surveys have uncovered 10 previously undescribed species of these elusive plants.
- In a brief chat, Mongabay spoke with Suetsugu about the strange world of mycoheterotrophic plants, why it fascinates him, and why it’s an important indicator of ecosystem health.

New orchid species from Japan lives on dark forest floor, never blooms
- Researcher Kenji Suetsugu of Kobe University has found flowering plants of a new species of orchid on Japan’s Amami-Oshima and Tokunoshima islands, now named Gastrodia amamiana.
- G. amamiana belongs to a group of mycoheterotrophic orchids that live on dark forest floors, do not use photosynthesis to get their nutrients, and steal nutrition from fungi instead. G. amamiana’s flowers likely never open up or bloom.
- Researchers have already found evidence of tree thinning close to where G. amamiana was discovered, and they worry that logging could dry the soil and consequently the fungi that the orchid depends on.

Venezuelan crisis: Caring for priceless botanical treasures in a failed state
- Venezuela’s Botanical Garden of Caracas was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000. Its 70-hectare (173-acre) garden, National Herbarium and Henri Pittier Library are considered a national, and international treasure, and a vital repository of Latin American and global natural history utilized frequently by researchers.
- But a devastating drought that started two years ago, plus massive thefts of equipment (ranging from air conditioners to computers, plumbing and even electrical wiring), plus a failed electrical and public water supply, have all combined to threaten the Garden’s priceless collections.
- The annual botanical garden budget has been slashed to a mere $500 per year, which has forced staff to rely on innovative conservation solutions which include crowd funding to pay for rainwater cisterns, as well as volunteer programs in which participants contribute not only labor, but irrigation water they bring from home.
- As Venezuela’s government grows increasingly corrupt and incompetent, and as the national economy spirals out of control with hyperinflation topping 1.7 million percent in 2018, the botanical garden’s curators have no ready answers as to how to go about preserving the rare plants they tend on into the future.

‘You don’t find orchids; they find you’: Q&A with botanist Edicson Parra
- Edicson Parra has not only discovered more than 20 new species of orchids in his home country of Colombia, but has also used his expertise in orchid diversity to help halt development, road and mining projects that would have otherwise threatened their forest habitats.
- But studying orchids can be a dangerous challenge in Colombia, due to drug traffickers and threats to environmentalists in the country.
- Parra says orchids could be “one of the most sensitive of all Earth’s taxa.” Orchids are particularly vulnerable and fragile to deforestation, including edge effects, making protecting large tracts of forests key to their survival.

Social media, e-commerce sites facilitate illegal orchid trade
- Wild orchids are collected for their beauty and are also used in traditional foods and medicines. This demand has left the plants prone to illegal trafficking.
- Despite having some of the best legal protections afforded to plants, wild orchids remain under immense threat globally for the illegal trade.
- While many orchids sold online are grown in greenhouses and have proper documentation, wild orchid traffickers are increasingly poaching the plants from protected forests, posing grave risks to the impacted species.
- There is often an overlap between legal and illegal online orchid sales, sometimes involving the same platforms, buyers and sellers, and little enforcement to prevent illegal transactions.

New orchid species discovered in Peruvian Amazon
- SERNANP, Peru’s national parks service, announced that a new species of orchid was discovered on Bella Durmiente mountain, a prominent natural feature of Tingo Maria National Park in the Huánuco region of central Peru.
- About 240 orchid species are known to occur in Tingo Maria National Park. The new species, which was described to science in a paper published in the journal Phytotaxa last month, was given the scientific name Andinia tingomariana in honor of the park where it was discovered.
- A. tingomariana was found growing epiphytically — meaning it was growing on another plant, but not parasitically — among the mosses and vines on tree trunks in a humid forest at an elevation of 1,285 meters (about 4,216 feet).

Saving rare orchids that are ‘confusingly difficult’ to grow in labs: Q&A with orchid expert Marc Freestone
- Leek orchids are a group of small, native wildflowers found in bushlands across southern Australia. Of the 140-odd leek orchids known today, one-third are at risk of extinction, primarily from habitat loss.
- For some of the more threatened leek orchids with just a handful of plants known to exist, captive breeding and reintroduction to the wild might be the only way to save them, researchers say.
- But leek orchids are notoriously difficult to grow in labs, unlike many other orchids that can be easily artificially propagated.
- Mongabay spoke with orchid expert Marc Freestone who is trying to save leek orchids along with his colleagues at Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria and Australia National University.

Saving Sumatran orchids from deforestation, one plant at a time
- Conversion of forest for agriculture is an ever-present threat in Sumatra, even in protected areas like Kerinci Seblat National Park. Palm oil, acacia, rubber and other plantation crops pressure the park from the outside, while poaching endangers the fauna within.
- Scientists estimate there are between 25,000 and 30,000 species of orchid in the world, with many yet to be discovered. Around 1,000 species are listed as threatened by the IUCN. Sumatra is one of the world’s orchid hot spots.
- Conservationist Pungky Nanda Pratama is trying to save at-risk orchids by transplanting them from threatened areas in and around Kerinci Seblat to a nursery where he is aiming propagate them and re-plant them in nearby protected areas.
- Pratama is also hoping to start an educational center where people can learn about Sumatra’s native plants.

The lure of wild orchids persists in Colombia
- Colombia is the top location for orchids in the world, but about 50 percent of the country’s native orchids are threatened. Estimates put the total amount of annual wild orchid trafficking at about $6 billion minimum.
- The disappearance of the orchid threatens the stability of countless aspects of the forest, including the loss of specific types of wasps and bees attracted to a specific orchid.
- Colombia’s conservation efforts have been harshly criticized by one expert who points out that even Bogota’s botanical garden doesn’t have a permanent orchid exhibition.

New parasitic plant doesn’t use photosynthesis; its flowers never bloom
- Researcher Kenji Suetsugu of Kobe University chanced upon some 100 individuals of the new plant in April 2016, during a research trip in the lowland forests of the Japanese island of Kuroshima.
- The newly discovered plant — named Gastrodia kuroshimensis — occurs in the dark understory of forests where little light penetrates. So instead of using sunlight or photosynthesis to generate nutrients, the plant parasitizes the fungi in the forest soil for its daily dose of nutrition.
- The new plant produces dark greenish-brown flowers that remain closed throughout the entire flowering period, relying completely on self-pollination within closed buds instead.

New orchid discovered in Colombia is critically endangered
- Researchers have named the new orchid species Telipogon diabolicus, referring to the orchid’s wine-red or maroon reproductive structure that resembles a devil’s head.
- The rare orchid is known from a single population of 30 orchids in southern Colombia.
- The lone population is found in a vulnerable habitat close to the main road Pasto-Mocoa, and the ongoing reconstruction of the road could push the species towards extinction, the researchers say.

49 species added to Australia’s threatened list
- Last week, the Australian government added 49 species of plants and animals to the country’s list of threatened and endangered species.
- Among the new additions are nine critically endangered species, including the myrtle elbow orchid, the copper bear orchid, and the condamine earless dragon.
- The government has also upgraded the conservation status of several species, including the swift parrot, regent honeyeater, and leadbeater’s possum, from endangered to critically endangered.

Conservationists propose Dracula Reserve in Ecuador

Rainforest Trust holds Halloween drive to raise $28,000 towards purchase of 652 acres of Chocó forest Deep in the dark, cool forests of Ecuador live strange and mysterious organisms. Some inhabit the trees and others stay to the ground, and many are threatened by human encroachment. Because of this threat, Rainforest Trust has launched a […]
Diverse, deceptive, declining: orchids threatened by deforestation in South America

Orchids indicate ecosystem health, can be used to predict extinction of other species, manage forests High in a humid tropical forest in the Sierra de Cayey, Puerto Rico, Benjamin Crain and his field assistant were carefully picking their way through the dense growth of moss-clad trees. They were searching for orchids of the genus Lepanthes, […]
Blue tarantula, walking cactus, and a worm from Hell: the top 10 new species of 2011

Sazima’s tarantula: one of the top ten new species discovered in 2011 according to the annual list by the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University. Photo by: Caroline S. Fukushima. A sneezing monkey, a blue tarantula, and an extinct walking cactus are just three of the remarkable new species listed in the […]

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