Orchid Hunt in Japan, round II

[KyushuCalanthe]

Almost a year to the day later I revisited some rocky, wooded hills not so distant from my home to find the elusive Calanthe sieboldii in habitat. The trip was similar to last year's but with some bonus stuff at the end, so wait for that.

The Hunt for Calanthe sieboldii RELOADED

 

[abax]

Waaahhhh...the video won't load for me!

 

[monocotman]

Tom,

Super video as usual.
At least the plants grow in such inaccessible places that it dissuades all but the most determined of collectors!

Regards,

David

 

[cnycharles]

Interesting! Thanks for the tour


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

Waaahhhh...the video won't load for me!

Did it load eventually?

 

[abax]

Nope. Screen says "missing plug in". I've never had that thing happen
with one of your videos.

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

Angela,

Suggestions from YT:

"Usually refreshing helps. But it if doesn't, then maybe deleting your browsing data will help.


Deleting your browsing data:

Internet Explorer 7:
1. From the Tools menu in the upper right, select Delete Browsing History.
2. Next to "Temporary Internet Files", click Delete files... .
3. To delete your cookies, click Delete Cookies.
4. Click Close, and then click OK to exit.

Internet Explorer 8:
1. From the Safety menu in the upper right, click Delete Browsing History... .
2. Deselect (i.e., uncheck) Preserve Favorites website data, and select (i.e., check) Temporary Internet files, Cookies, and History.
3. Click Delete.

Firefox 3 for Windows:
1. From the Tools menu, select Clear Private Data... , and then check Cache and Cookies.
2. Click Clear Private Data Now.

Firefox 3.5 for Windows:
1. From the Tools menu, select Clear Recent History... .
2. From the Time range to clear: drop-down menu, select the desired range; to clear your entire cache, select Everything.
3. Click the down arrow next to "Details" to choose what history elements to clear (e.g., check Cookies to clear cookies). Click Clear Now.

Firefox 3.6 for Windows:

[Same as Firefox 3.5]

Safari 5:
1. From the Safari menu, select Reset Safari... .
2. From the menu, only select Empty the cache and Remove all cookies, then press Reset.

Firefox 3 for Mac OS X:
1. In Firefox, from the Tools menu, select Clear Private Data.
2. Make sure Cache and Cookies are checked, and then click Clear Private Data Now.

Firefox 3.5 for Mac OS X:
1. From the Tools menu, select Clear Recent History... .
2. From the Time range to clear: drop-down menu, select the desired range; to clear your entire cache, select Everything.
3. Click the down arrow next to "Details" to choose what history elements to clear. Click Clear Now.

Firefox 3.6 for Mac OS X:

[Same as Firefox 3.5]

Google Chrome:
1. Click the Tools menu. (the wrench in the upper-right corner)
2. Click Options
3. Click Clear browsing data…
4. Check the boxes for the types of information you wish to delete.
-- Clear browsing history
-- Clear download history
-- Empty the cache
-- Delete cookies
-- Clear saved passwords
-- Clear saved form data
You can also choose the period of time you wish to delete cached information using the Clear data from this period dropdown menu.
5. Click Clear Browsing Data when ready."

 

[abax]

Computers fascinate me and confound me. I did the same thing again
in Safari and this time it worked. Damned if I know why!

As always, I love the tour and am out of breath myself. It was a really
nice treat to see where the Cymbidium grows naturally. I love the
Oriental Cymbidiums. Did you sniff the blooms?

 

[Linus_Cello]

I may have to try these Cymbidiums outside. My Calanthe discolor and sieboldi successfully overwintered, so maybe the cym. goerengi will do well outdoors here in DC.

 

[naoki]

Thank you, Tom! Beautiful footage. It brought me back old memory of my grand-father. When I was in an elementary school, I was fascinated with Calanthe (I probably even didn't know it was an orchid). My grand-father and I searched for them in mountains of Shikoku. I didn't realize that this memory was still deep in my brain until I saw your video.

 

[s1214215]

Great vid Tom.. Nice work..

Only two cans, must get getting old mate ;-)

Brett

 

[SlipperFan]

Thanks, Tom. I'm amazed there is still so much wilderness in Japan. Probably shows my ignorance.

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

Thank you, Tom! Beautiful footage. It brought me back old memory of my grand-father. When I was in an elementary school, I was fascinated with Calanthe (I probably even didn't know it was an orchid). My grand-father and I searched for them in mountains of Shikoku. I didn't realize that this memory was still deep in my brain until I saw your video.

Glad I could stir up some memories Naoki!

Great vid Tom.. Nice work..

Only two cans, must get getting old mate ;-)

Brett

Each year takes its toll bro :sob:

Thanks, Tom. I'm amazed there is still so much wilderness in Japan. Probably shows my ignorance.

Dot, I wouldn't say wilderness, as there is essentially none of that here anymore as such. There are a lot of forests on the mountains, but the lion's share is cut over at least one time. I heard a statistic that only about 1% of Japan's virgin forest remains. Other fun statistics - where there are mountains in Japan (72% of the landmass) there also is forest. On Kyushu over 50% of that "forest" is plantations of Japanese Cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) and Hinoki Cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) - basically row crops of same age, overplanted, monocultured trees.

 

[SlipperFan]

Discouraging.

I guess by "wilderness", I meant "woods" or "Forests" -- You are lucky to have these near enough to you that you can explore them.

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

Discouraging.

I guess by "wilderness", I meant "woods" or "Forests" -- You are lucky to have these near enough to you that you can explore them.

I figured as much Dot. It is funny how video and pictures, even when faithfully reproduced to match reality as close as possible, can give an odd impression of a place. Japan is a thoroughly human manipulated place, especially from central Honshu and south. There are plenty of places where there is "nature", but not quite what was once here. Like other places, large bodied animals have taken a big hit, and also anything living in the lowland valleys and plains are critically endangered. Orchids, due to their desirable qualities, are particularly hard hit since they have attracted human attention for hundreds of years here.

Nevertheless, I am grateful to have had the chance to see what I have here - and that's exactly why I try to share my experiences with you all via these vids.

 

[Linus_Cello]

There are plenty of places where there is "nature", but not quite what was once here.

One can argue the same thing in the US. Parts east of the Mississippi River were once mostly cleared of trees, so there is very little virgin "old growth." Also the chestnut blight destroyed almost all american chestnuts.

Anyone know of a cym goeringii vendor in the US?

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

One can argue the same thing in the US. Parts east of the Mississippi River were once mostly cleared of trees, so there is very little virgin "old growth." Also the chestnut blight destroyed almost all american chestnuts.

Anyone know of a cym goeringii vendor in the US?

Very true. Since America was "wild" only a couple hundred years ago, the situation is a bit different than here. Also consider that a population of nearly 130 million are squeezed into the land area the size of California (and most only on something like 10% of the total land area). Moreover, on Kyushu and Shikoku conifer plantations are particularly prevalent, making the words "natural", "wild", "old growth", etc. go out the window.

As for finding C. goeringii in the states I know that New World Orchids and Plant Delights have carried it in the past, but don't seem to have any now. Santa Barbara Orchid Estate has them listed starting at $35. Ebay vendors have them sometimes, but most seem of Chinese origin. Hengduan Mountains too has a large selection of Jenosa Cymbidiums including C. goeringii, all Chinese.

In your neck of the woods: Orchid Enterprise Inc. has them for $30. I know nothing of this company or it reputation.

 

[Linus_Cello]

Thanks! I know Orchid Enterprises very well. Will ask Andy for one.

 

[NYEric]

Um, Orchids Limited.
Excellent video trip Tom. Thanks.

 

[Clark]

Nice specimen at 14:35. Tough to get something like that w/o blemishes.
Looks a little hungry...