In Thailand, they are considered a national symbol of respect and honour, and in Japan, they represent luxury and perfection.
Hong Kong has a rich variety of native orchids – 133 known species, in fact – and spring, with its combination of high rainfall and humidity, produces the ideal damp environment for them to thrive.
Stephan Gale, head of the flora conservation department at KFBG, says the diversity of orchids in the wild in Hong Kong is astonishing.
Some have been collected from the wild illegally, and buying these not only impacts biodiversity but threatens the populations of wild orchids, says Gale.
There are ways to differentiate between illegal wild orchids and legal, sustainably propagated ones.
“Nursery-grown blooms are legal and consumers can tell the difference from wild orchids because the plants are usually potted in uniform batches and look healthy,” says Gale, co-author of A Guide to Orchids of Hong Kong and A Guide to Orchids of Laos.
Illegally harvested orchids usually have messy, exposed roots and the leaves often show signs of insect damage. Some may still be attached to the branches of forest trees, he adds.
Gale has spent more than a decade spearheading orchid conservation in the region, his research leading to the reintroduction of rare plants and improved understanding of the threats they face in the wild, including genetic erosion and poaching to feed the illegal trade in them.
“In 2018, we published a study based on research where we visited markets across south China – from Yunnan to Hong Kong,” he says. “The results were pretty depressing – we estimated that about 1.5 million plants are traded illegally every year.”
The volume of illegally traded orchids in Hong Kong, Gale says, is quite small. And things have improved over the years, with fewer being sold at markets. “You have to look a bit harder to find them,” he adds.
Gale says he has not heard of a single enforcement case in Hong Kong involving the illegal trade of wild orchids.
While the illegal trade over the border in China is “eye-watering”, Gale says, progress has been made in the past couple of years. “The mainland government has done a lot more to protect wild orchids by including more as protected species,” he says.
At KFBG, research focuses not only on orchids in their natural environment but on conserving species outside their natural habitats. This allows KFBG researchers to raise juvenile orchid plants to reintroduce them to the wild on the KFBG site to help foster new, healthy populations.
Its staff give the pollination process a helping hand by basically doing the job that insects do in the wild.
“When people imagine an orchid they think of the big colourful blooms you see in the Mong Kok flower market. But the reality is that, for many wild orchids, the flowers are quite small.
“To carry out hand pollination, you have to access a part of the flower that’s microscopic, often less than a millimetre in diameter,” Gale says.
Orchids have inspired historians, artists and poets for centuries. During China’s Song dynasty (960–1279) the delicate Cymbidium species was the focus of paintings, with artists depicting them with detailed outlines and colour in a process known as gongbi – painting with detailed strokes.
“Painting an orchid is a challenge as these flowers are complex in design and colour,” says Bunker. A lot of patience is required, she says. Being a perfectionist can also help.
“It is said that with orchids, the flower formation and nature’s design have reached perfection, and the artist must try and convey this, and depict the essence of the flowers.”
“Nature Exploration – Orchid Encounters”, April 25, Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, Lam Kam Road, Tai Po, New Territories. A guided tour runs 11am-11.45am; a workshop runs 2.30pm-3.30pm. Enrolment fee: HK$450 per person, including shuttle bus to upper farm and an orchid
