Interesting link about restoration project of many orchid species population in Korea
http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=183943
http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=183943
Korea National Park project aims to restore endangered plants
- Thread starter Erythrone
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NYEric
Well-Known Member
Cool, thanks for sharing.
Migrant13
Mature growth?
Awesome (and brave) undertaking by those climbers. Thanks for sharing.
SlipperFan
Addicted
Some good news. Thanks.
emydura
Well-Known Member
A good news story.
To counter that is a disgraceful story of the clearance of a sacred 500 year old South Korean forest to create a ski run for the winter Olympics -
http://www.theguardian.com/environm...-sacred-south-korean-forest-to-create-ski-run
To counter that is a disgraceful story of the clearance of a sacred 500 year old South Korean forest to create a ski run for the winter Olympics -
http://www.theguardian.com/environm...-sacred-south-korean-forest-to-create-ski-run
Happypaphy7
Paphlover
And they need to crack down on local orchid society going field trip collecting whatever orchids they find.
I don't know if this practice still goes on, but long ago, it was a "tradition" to hike up certain mountain area in the early spring and everyone in the group just spreads all over the area looking for cymbidium goeringii.
Everything is still brown and dead, so evergreen goeringii and especially the ones in bloom ( which is basically every goeringii early spring) are so easily picked up unfortunately.
I'm not sure how common is the species now.
They have much wider habitat but so easy to collect.
Large pale pink cyprepidium was rather common in the mountain as well.
My grandma and her neighbors loved to cook the roots.
I think they devoured the entire population. Oh well.
I thought the flowers were hideous as a kid.
Who knew they would be so rare now?
Sad.
I don't know if this practice still goes on, but long ago, it was a "tradition" to hike up certain mountain area in the early spring and everyone in the group just spreads all over the area looking for cymbidium goeringii.
Everything is still brown and dead, so evergreen goeringii and especially the ones in bloom ( which is basically every goeringii early spring) are so easily picked up unfortunately.
I'm not sure how common is the species now.
They have much wider habitat but so easy to collect.
Large pale pink cyprepidium was rather common in the mountain as well.
My grandma and her neighbors loved to cook the roots.
I think they devoured the entire population. Oh well.
I thought the flowers were hideous as a kid.
Who knew they would be so rare now?
Sad.
Very sad....
KyushuCalanthe
Just call me Tom
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It is always nice to hear of such stories. There have been many attempts to return orchids to the wild across the US in particular, from epiphytes in Florida to Cyps throughout the eastern states. I know of a number of people who have planted out species here as well (in particular Calanthe). Such attempts often fail, but better to try than not.
Happypaphy7, very interesting to hear of your stories from Korea. As a child in NY state I watched innumerable orchids bite the dust, mostly from development. In Japan I've watched Calanthe populations decrease over the last ten years from poaching (STILL!). I was told that 40 years ago the local mountains, despite having been heavily logged, were full of Calanthe sieboldii (syn. striata). Today you have to look long and hard to find just a handful of them since they were all stripped out during the Calanthe craze of the 60's and 70's. Cymbidium goeringii, while very common in the local woods, is only represented by pure green forms these days - all the unusual colored forms have been taken. Neofinetia falcata and Dendrobium moniliforme are near ghosts in the local woods as well.
For every happy story you seem to hear ten negative ones unfortunately. The over-reaching problem is of course human population and resource use more than over-collection. Let's hope we can keep at least a few relatively pristine islands of "wildness" out there for the future...
Happypaphy7, very interesting to hear of your stories from Korea. As a child in NY state I watched innumerable orchids bite the dust, mostly from development. In Japan I've watched Calanthe populations decrease over the last ten years from poaching (STILL!). I was told that 40 years ago the local mountains, despite having been heavily logged, were full of Calanthe sieboldii (syn. striata). Today you have to look long and hard to find just a handful of them since they were all stripped out during the Calanthe craze of the 60's and 70's. Cymbidium goeringii, while very common in the local woods, is only represented by pure green forms these days - all the unusual colored forms have been taken. Neofinetia falcata and Dendrobium moniliforme are near ghosts in the local woods as well.
For every happy story you seem to hear ten negative ones unfortunately. The over-reaching problem is of course human population and resource use more than over-collection. Let's hope we can keep at least a few relatively pristine islands of "wildness" out there for the future...
Happypaphy7
Paphlover
Basically the same story in Korea, sadly.
Calanthe sieboldii is my favorite orchid!
I used to grow them as a kid. I'm sure the plants I bought came from local forests. lol
They are called Golden Shrimp Orchid in Korean. Shrimp because of the shape of their rhizome. They were also used as part of traditional medicine.
There are other color forms, I think it is Calanthe discolor, also pretty in its own right, and found also in Japan and China.
They were all relatively common in the 80s and not that expensive.
The record says they used to be everywhere, but when they were popular (maybe they were taken to feed the craze in Japan hahaha money...).
They are almost extinct now and earned a protected species status, but that means they are being poached.
When part of dense forest is cleared, that's where these orchids thrive, especially Calanthe and cypripedium.
Regarding Cymbidium goeringii, it's the same as Japan.
Green ones are the most common, and rarely there are red and yellow forms and they are traded for very high price, so I'm sure there were the first to go extinct. Plus, reds and yellows are much easier to spot than green.
Poor little things.
Oh, well...
Calanthe sieboldii is my favorite orchid!
I used to grow them as a kid. I'm sure the plants I bought came from local forests. lol
They are called Golden Shrimp Orchid in Korean. Shrimp because of the shape of their rhizome. They were also used as part of traditional medicine.
There are other color forms, I think it is Calanthe discolor, also pretty in its own right, and found also in Japan and China.
They were all relatively common in the 80s and not that expensive.
The record says they used to be everywhere, but when they were popular (maybe they were taken to feed the craze in Japan hahaha money...).
They are almost extinct now and earned a protected species status, but that means they are being poached.
When part of dense forest is cleared, that's where these orchids thrive, especially Calanthe and cypripedium.
Regarding Cymbidium goeringii, it's the same as Japan.
Green ones are the most common, and rarely there are red and yellow forms and they are traded for very high price, so I'm sure there were the first to go extinct. Plus, reds and yellows are much easier to spot than green.
Poor little things.
Oh, well...
Happypaphy7
Paphlover
I thought I would share some wonderful in-situ pictures while the topic was up.
These are three different species photographed by a Korean wild flower photographer.
I hope he keeps his mouth shut about the locations. lol
These are three different species photographed by a Korean wild flower photographer.
I hope he keeps his mouth shut about the locations. lol
Happypaphy7
Paphlover
A few more from the same photographer. 
Is the green and white an alba form of discolor?
Happypaphy7
Paphlover
I was actually wondering about that same thing since the flower shape and plant design looks pretty much the same as discolor, but the photographer did not list any scientific names, just a Korean name, which shows the locale where its found, Hanra Shrimp Orchid.
This one ( a different clone of course, not the one pictured here) happened to be the grand champion winner at last year's Shrimp Orchid Show in Korea.
This one ( a different clone of course, not the one pictured here) happened to be the grand champion winner at last year's Shrimp Orchid Show in Korea.
Happypaphy7
Paphlover
There are only 4 Korean species of calanthe registered but the website says there are at least 10, some of which are possibly natural hybrids.
Not to mention there might be more somewhere deep in the wild.
In Japan, there are 20 species found.
Not to mention there might be more somewhere deep in the wild.
In Japan, there are 20 species found.
Let's hope he does! Thanks for sharing the pics!
NYEric
Well-Known Member
Thanks for sharing.
KyushuCalanthe
Just call me Tom
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Lovely photos, thanks for sharing them. There are places yet like that in Japan, but far fewer than there used to be.
The white and green flowered plant perhaps is the natural hybrid between C. discolor and C. sieboldii - C. x takane. If you look closely, you can see that the flower segments are a bit more pointed, the lip is larger than C. discolor, and likely (though I can't see in the pics) the ribs on the mid-lip are bigger than C. discolor - all attributes given by the C. sieboldii parent. I've seen these types in Japan as well.
Southern Japan, Kyushu most especially, was a Calanthe "paradise" according to the old collectors here. Along with the species present, a vast hybrid swarm inhabited the woods, and to some extent still does here and there. The species involved in these hybrids are primarily C. discolor, C. sieboldii, C. aristulifera, and C. tricarinata. To this day in Japan it is these species that are used to create all the wonderful Calanthe hybrids. A much more localized plant of the islands south of Tokyo is C. izu-insularis. There it hybridized with C. discolor to create the beautiful purple and white flowered C. x kozu - another popular hybrid in Japan.
BTW, I should be putting together at least one video fairly soon about Japanese orchid shows featuring these gorgeous Calanthe hybrids.
The white and green flowered plant perhaps is the natural hybrid between C. discolor and C. sieboldii - C. x takane. If you look closely, you can see that the flower segments are a bit more pointed, the lip is larger than C. discolor, and likely (though I can't see in the pics) the ribs on the mid-lip are bigger than C. discolor - all attributes given by the C. sieboldii parent. I've seen these types in Japan as well.
Southern Japan, Kyushu most especially, was a Calanthe "paradise" according to the old collectors here. Along with the species present, a vast hybrid swarm inhabited the woods, and to some extent still does here and there. The species involved in these hybrids are primarily C. discolor, C. sieboldii, C. aristulifera, and C. tricarinata. To this day in Japan it is these species that are used to create all the wonderful Calanthe hybrids. A much more localized plant of the islands south of Tokyo is C. izu-insularis. There it hybridized with C. discolor to create the beautiful purple and white flowered C. x kozu - another popular hybrid in Japan.
BTW, I should be putting together at least one video fairly soon about Japanese orchid shows featuring these gorgeous Calanthe hybrids.
SlipperFan
Addicted
Nice to see these -- thanks for sharing.
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