conservation

[dennis]

Conservation


I would like to know the general consensus here as to whether orchids in the wild should be allowed to be collected and sold to the general public as long as it is done legally. My self I have about 90 percent of my plants are either jungle collected or stem props from collected plants, one of which has already become extinct in the wild. As our forest is being destroyed for lumber and habitat worldwide native plants are being destroyed and will soon be extinct from their natural habitat. Most companies that do the clearing do not have trained personnel to identify these plants as they are doing the destruction. On the other side you have people raiding these forests for horticultural export only to make a quick buck until the supply has been diminished. My research into orchids deals mostly with Phalaenopsis species and do not dwell into other species. The biggest problem with the raping of these wild collected plants is the lack of information on their growth habits and true culture. They are believed to be a low light plant due to the short stem. This is keeping with Holttum’s theory that stem length in monopodical orchids is generally an adaptation to light requirements, but until recently studies are now showing that there are quite a few species that will not bloom with out higher light levels closer to the Cattleya levels and the same goes with the temperature levels not all are warm growers. My personal feelings are that we should still allow collecting wild plants but done as more of a conservation effort than more than a profit type and we as the grower should be able to help provide more useful information on growing these than the general culture sheets that are available to us now. Phals are rated as one of the easiest ones to grow and bloom but also are about the biggest in having problems with in the home cultivation
In another topic should we still cultivate species to produce an award type flower compared to one that is naturally grown in the wild? I have no problem with judging plants and flowers I just don’t understand the judging process on which it is being judged to see if you can do a better job than nature does it self. The problem with this is that most growers will propagate one species with another to form a hardier and better formed flower. It has been found that some growers are now selling “select” venosa plants which are man made crosses of amboinensis x venosa and not a true species. Others that are most likely mislabeled to deceive the buyer are P. stobartiana which is only known from 4 clones still in existence and P. robinsonii which is known only from one single preserved plant. I do not have a problem with hybridizing to make newer varieties as long as they are properly tagged as such, and properly registered