[foltdan]

saw this on another board....
some thoughts on ex-situ conservation

click me you fool...

[Poeetiol]

I'm from Malaysia, so i know what the real situation is like here... Well, you see, here we don't really have many sources to obtain orchids. Cut-flower hybrids can be found easily, but the more unique ones (like slippers) are not so... Here, paphs, although local, are a rarity. As few nurseries actually supply paphs for orchid enthusiasts, sad to say, many paphs in cultivation now are actually from the wild.
However, i agree with the fact that local orchidists are really doing some sort of ex-situ conservation by cultivating these species... left in the wild, these plants may not be able to compete for survival. But, there are some people who export these wild plants overseas illegally.
To overcome this problem, several local universities and conservation groups are making efforts to breed wild orchids and re-introduce them into the wild. On top of their priority lists are paphs, jewel orchids and other botanicals.. A small number of nurseries are also helping in orchid conservation...
Btw, in the article, it is mentioned that wild orchids that are seed-germinated will be re-introduced to the wild.. It is not that easy. I came across another article by a conservation group. According to them, several orchids like paphs are symbiotic with other orchids. Therefore, they must be planted close to the 'host' plant. For example, paph barbatum is symbiotic with phaius callosus. Efforts done by planting paph barbatum next to phaius tankervilliae failed as phaius tankervilliae is a unsuitable 'host' plant. Another problem mentioned was that paphs are only fertile for one season. I'm not sure what this means... Anobody have any idea?
So, basically, I think it is rather unfair to blame orchid enthusiasts for depleting the number of local orchids. We also help to conserve these precious plants...

[craditc]

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[compiit]

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