Ground Orchids (Terrestrial Orchids) – Page 3

Category: Ground Orchids (Terrestrial Orchids)

Not surprisingly, ground orchids are found growing in soil, unlike their tropical brethren that we are accustomed to thinking as orchids, for example the genus Cattleya. The name “ground orchid” itself is a misnomer, and even then the more technical term, terrestrial orchid, is in part inaccurate. The reason why has to do with the substrates these highly varied plants are found in naturally. Some are found in loamy soils of forests, while others colonize old sand dunes. Others still grow in boggy, peat-based mucks on seepage slopes or out on mats of peat bogs floating on old glacial lakes. Others can be found in mineral-based soils, such as Cypripedium californium which grows in serpentine soils of seepage bogs in northern California and adjoining areas of Oregon. The terrestrial orchids native to the pine rock-lands of south Florida’s Everglades region grow in a thin layer of organic debris overlaying pure limestone rock and marl. So again, we can see that diversity within any category of plants is often extreme, and generalizations are not adequate in describing them.Probably some of the best known terrestrial orchids are in the genera Bletilla, Cypripedium, and Orchis. Many have gotten the name hardy orchid because some colorful flowered species are found in temperate regions. Of course not all terrestrial orchids are from temperate climates, in fact, they can be found as far north as the Arctic Circle and all the way down to the very south end of Patagonia. They live in any climate zone, from tropical to subarctic. Not surprisingly, their cultural needs are equally as varied.The focus here then is about specific groups – their natural history, biology, and cultivation. It is this last point that is of great interest to many adventurous souls. I say this because if you travel down the road of terrestrial orchid cultivation, you are in for a ride, with lots of highs and lows. Virtually no terrestrial orchid is actually easy except for a handful – Bletilla striata and Spathoglottis plicata pop into mind. If your growing conditions are right, you will find many others that too could be called easy – genera such as Dactylorihza and Pterostylis have members that fall in that category. Many more are challenging – the vast bulk of the popular genus Cyripedium, many of the acidic bog species, and most of the tropical jewel orchids all need more care and attendance to than a typical tropical orchid. Others still defy cultivation completely, at least under normal growing conditions – these would include all of the chlorophyll lacking saprophytes, and yet others such as Cypripedium irapeanum and related species from Mexico and Guatemala. A rare few can be called truly weedy, but some in the genera Spiranthes and Cynorkis fit that bill.Fascinating, often strange, and sometimes familiar, this is another amazing group of plants to explore.

Kyushu, Japan’s southernmost main island is home to an extremely rare orchid species, Odontochilus hatusimanus. This plant is so rare in fact that it was listed as extinct for several decades before being rediscovered in the late 1990s. It just so happens that I live right next to a mountain that has one of the remaining populations left in nature.

O. hatusimanus is a low growing evergreen terrestrial orchid. The ovate leaves originate out of a central growing point and form a small, neat rosette. They are glossy, dark green, lightly veined, and about 5-6 cm long and 3-4 cm wide. The rosettes grow from a trailing rhizome that is at or near the surface of the ground. From the center of the growing point a single hairy branch less flower spike grows to a height of 6-10 cm and sports up to 8 small flowers about 1 cm across each. The pure white lip is cleft in the center forming two lobes that are slightly serrated. The remaining sepals and petals are covered in long white hairs and are pinkish green in color. These don’t fully open and thus form a hood-like structure.

Odontochilus hatusimanus plants — A large clump of *Odontochilus hatusimanus* in habitat, Fukuoka Prefecture, Kyushu.

It is a denizen of wet broad leaf evergreen woodlands of Kyushu Island, Japan, preferring the wettest sites possible, growing nearly in small streams and areas that commonly flood. In these areas Calanthe reflexa, another terrestrial orchid, grows sympatrically.

This rare delight was first described by science in 1957 and was thought to be extinct, however, just a few decades later it was rediscovered. Currently it is only found at two sites on Kyushu, in Kagoshima and Fukuoka Prefectures. The first rediscovery was in Kagoshima in 1999, and shortly thereafter in Fukuoka. It remains critically endangered.

Through shear dumb luck and an observant eye, I stumbled upon a nonflowering plant back in May 2004 on one of the local mountains. Unfamiliar with the local flora at the time, I wasn’t sure of its identity, but I guessed it to either be related to the genus Goodyera or to be a Goodyera itself. A search on the internet and consultation with a native orchid expert IDed it as Goodyera foliosa. I tried to find it in flower later that season, but the only plant I knew of grew no spike that year.

Odontochilus hatusimanus flowering plant — The plant flowers in late July in its native home.

In 2005 I returned in late August and found a small scattered colony already in seed. That was a bit confusing since G. foliosa was supposed to bloom in August and September along with its cousins G. schlectendaliana and G. velutina, two species found in the general area. The following year I was determined to photograph the flowers and made repeated trips to the colony starting in mid July. I was finally rewarded in late July, finding two plants in perfect flower. I sent the shots off to an orchid friend and he replied that it was not the Goodyera after all, but rather the extremely rare Odontochilus hatusimanus, a species I had never heard of. What a thrill to have found such a rare species in my own backyard!
Continue reading “To extinction and back again, a rare orchid from Kyushu, Japan”

Here’s a terrestrial orchid that is not only common, but can also take a fair amount of abuse and live to tell the tale. The bulbous rhizomes can be packaged for some months, completely rootless, and yet when planted they will grow on and even flower. Ironically, while this species is so easy to grow and is available at big box stores the world over, it also is very rare in the wild these days. Bletilla striata is a perennial, deciduous orchid of open environments. The grass-like leaves, numbering between 4-8, grow tightly along a central, thick stem to the height of 30-50 cm on average. The leaves are bright green and deeply ribbed, giving the overall impression of an unflowering plant as that of a typical palm tree seedling.

Bletilla-Habitat — Bletilla striata growing in its native habitat in southern Japan, Hiraodai Karst Plateau, Kyushu, Japan.

The flower stalk arises out of the top of the leaves at the apex of the main stem and can extend for another 30 cm or more. The typically pink-purple flowers occur in an alternating pattern along its length and open sequentually, yet several are in flower at any given time. The flower stalks start out in a vertical position, but as more flowers open, they tend to sag down and become horizontal to the ground.

Bletilla striata, mixed forms — The author’s garden showing various color forms of Bletilla striata growing in one patch.

The flowers, which can number up to 10 or more per stalk, have a very classical orchid shape, something like a Cattleya, and are about 6 cm across. The sepals and petals are solid pink-purple and are of similar shape and size. The partially tubular lip is deeply ribbed with a ruffles at the end, and these are often streaked white. The column is long and descending, becoming broader at its tip. Plants quickly clump and individuals can number a hundred stems or more in time.

In Japan this species typically flowers from April through May. Preferring bright environments, it can be found on forest edges, low mountain meadows, rocky cliff faces, marshlands, and along rivers in exposed, sunny environments. River “improvements”, and damn building has lead to the species becoming very rare in nature.
Continue reading “The “only” easy to grow terrestrial orchid – Bletilla striata”