Visiting a large collection of orchid varieties | Indonesia Special | Gardening Australia

Tammy explores orchids in Bogor Botanical Gardens. They are one of the largest plant families in the world. More than 5,000 species can be found across the island of Indonesia. Subscribe 🔔 http://ab.co/GA-subscribe

There are local indigenous orchids growing wild in the garden, such as the tiny bamboo orchid (Didymoplexis pallens), which has no leaves or means to photosynthesise, so it relies on other species to survive.

There are two large indoor orchid houses that hold a huge collection. One room is dedicated to hybrid orchids, bred to produce more flowers, brighter colours, bigger flowers and longer blooming.

The second room has a collection of naturally occurring orchid species, still looking as they would in the wild. There are many dendrobiums, most of which grow as epiphytes on other plants, without harming them.

Orchids are under pressure in many parts of the world, due to habitat loss, climate change and exploitation. A big role of this botanical gardens, and others around the globe, is the conservation of these rare and threatened species.

There is a tissue-culture lab where plants are propagated in controlled conditions, managed by Dr Surya Diantina, Researcher at the Research Center for Plant Conservation, Botanic Gardens & Forestry – BRIN.

Dr Surya says that in nature the germination rate of some orchid seed can be as low as 1%, but in the laboratory it can be as high as 90%.

They have also been experimenting with seed storage, testing cryopreservation in liquid nitrogen at minus 100C, to see if seeds last longer than normal storage at minus 20C.

Bogor is about an hour south of Jakarta, in West Java. Bogor has the oldest botanic garden in south-east Asia, founded in 1817, as well as being a UNESCO World Heritage listed site. It’s also a centre for research and home to more than 12,000 species of plants.

Featured plants:
Bamboo orchid (Didymoplexis pallens)
Mentawi Islands phalaenopsis (Phalaenopsis mentawaiensis)
Dendrobium anosmum
Coelogyne asperata
Grammatophyllum martae
Dendrobium capra
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