Japanese Orchids – Botany Boy

Category: Japanese Orchids

Much of traditional Japanese culture originates from its nearby neighbor China. This includes the structuring of society itself, and the various arts and cultural traditions that have been practiced through the centuries. While many of these traditions are less influential today, nevertheless they have left a heavy impression on modern Japanese life. With the increasing influence of Chinese culture on Japan starting around the 1st century A.D., many new ideas and practices entered and became incorporated into Japanese culture. One such Chinese tradition is the growing of plants in pots, dating back before the time of Christ – a remarkable thing in and of itself.

Japan is famous for taking something foreign and making it Japanese. Perhaps no other group of plants exemplifies that better than bonsai, but the growing of certain orchids has been impressive in its own right. Perhaps the most famous of the cultivated Japanese orchids are fuukiran, but others exist as well, and enjoy broad popularity today. Many command a high price, though not all, and have highly fragrant flowers.

While a wide variety of native orchids are grown in Japan today, several groups have more influence and history than others. In the beginning, plants such as fuukiran and shunran were kept only by the most powerful and wealthy, however in last 50 years they have been grown by just about anyone up to the challenge. Here is a rundown of the “heavy hitters”:

Fuukiran – these special cultivars of Neofinetia falcata have been grown since the middle Edo Period (around 300 years ago). They were first collected from the wild by feudal lords and their servants to be gifted to the top ruler (the Shogun) to gain political favor. This practice expanded through the years and during the empire phase of Japan in the early 20th century they became more popular. After WWII fuukiran were even more broadly grown. Today they have become a modest sized industry in Japan, Korea, and China, and growers around the world now enjoy them. Please see the category Neofinetia falcata for information on these.

Shunran -The truly dwarf Cymbidium species, C. goeringii, is a native of Japan, Korea, and China, and exhibits a wide range of flower forms and colors. While the focus is mostly on their flowers, leaf habit and variegation is also important in some varieties. These specially selected forms are known as shunran, which means “spring orchid”. There are hundreds of forms today, some well known, others obscure.

Kanran – The winter flowering Cymbidium kanran (meaning “cold orchid”) is much larger than its relative C. goeringii, but offers its flowers at a time of year when most plants are dormant. The flowers vary in color and shape, but in general are much more spidery looking and the plants are quite tall, up to a meter while in flower. The pots they grow in are tall as well, giving large specimens a very stately look. “Elegant” would be the word that comes to mind for these, but not “showy”.

Chouseiran – The native Dendrobium moniliforme, the most northern growing epiphytic orchid in the world, as well has great natural variation. The special forms are known as chouseiran (“long life orchid”) and number at least into the hundreds. Variation includes flower color and form, pseudobulb color and form, leaf shape and variegation, and overall stature. While some forms may indeed be the result of hybridization, most are the real thing. Luckily, many chouseiran are more affordable than other Japanese orchids.

Ebine – These are the species and hybrids of the genus Calanthe native to Japan. The name ebine literally means “shrimp root” since the close set pseudobulbs strung along a subterranean rhizome gave someone the impression of that crustacean. In the past plants were collected directly from the wild and were primarily hybrids of C. discolor, C. sieboldii, C. tricarinata, and C. izu-insularis. Since the 1980s with the dawn of micro-propagation of terrestrial orchids, lab grown plants have come to rule the scene. With ebine breeders making increasingly complex hybrids, well defined hybrid types have become more blurred – much like the situation with complex Paphiopedilum hybrids.

Of course many more native orchids are popularly grown in Japan today. Most of those I will include under the category Orchid Plants.

The Izu Island chain spreads south of the Kanto region of Honshu for more than 400 km in a near north-south orientation, bounded on the west by the Philippine Sea, and to the east by the Pacific Ocean. They are know for their distinctive culture, dolphins, beaches, and volcanic activity, but there also exists an endemic orchid on three of the islands that is found nowhere else in the world, the fragrant Calanthe, C. izu-insularis.

Here too is the closely related species, C. discolor, and the resulting hybrid between the two, C. Koozu. Today both C. izu-insularis and C. Koozu are rare as hen’s teeth in their native forests, however, Calanthe enthusiasts have managed to successfully propagate them by seed in large quantity, thus ensuring their continued survival.

Calanthe izu-insularis flowers — While the flowers of Calanthe izu-insularis are attractive, they are collected by Japanese growers for their incredible floral fragrance.

Calanthe izu-insularis is an evergreen terrestrial orchid of subtropical woodlands. In appearance the plant is nearly indistinguishable from related species, with each growth typically supporting two, sometimes three, heavily pleated, glaucous leaves, 15-35 cm long and 7-15 cm wide. These are born near to the ground and grow off a chain of underground pseudobulbs that are ribbed and rounded, giving the appearance of a shrimp’s body, hence the common Japanese name for the genus, ebine, or “shrimp root”. The roots are numerous, light brown in color, and mostly unbranched. In April the flower stalk arises from the center of the leaves to height of 30 to 60 cm, and can hold up to as many as 30 or more small purple and white flowers.

The flowers are typically not more that 4 cm across. The sepals and petals are pointed, splayed out star-like, and slightly recurved backward a the margins. Each is around 2 cm long and half again as wide. They are generally a light purple to lavender color with a hint of brown or orange suffused throughout. Lighter colored lines, appearing nearly white, commonly streak them as well. The lip and column are pure white, except for a small crest on the midrib on the upper lip that is lemon yellow. The lip has three lobes, two large lateral ones and a much smaller central one that is slightly bifurcated . They all point more or less downward. Each flower is graced also with a distinctive spur or nectary, that is often perfectly straight and stretches back toward the flower stalk, typically extending just beyond it.

Calanthe izu-insularis spur — The nectary or spur of Calanthe izu-insularis is long and basically straight in most specimens.

Its Japanese name is nioiebine, literally meaning “fragrant shrimp root” since the flowers give off an amazing floral scent that can be detected from a long distance away. In the Kanto region they are very popular and entire orchid shows are dedicated to them, not for their flower shape or color, but rather the quality of their scent. I would say they have a floral scent as opposed to a sweeter scent, as is common with other native Japanese Calanthe. Each plant has subtle differences in odor, not just in the strength, but also in the quality.

This species is found exclusively in the evergreen broad leaf forests of just three islands, all in the northern part of the Izu chain – Koozujima, Mikurajima, and Niijima. For this reason, this species has always been a rarity. Consider that the area in question is just a bit larger than Manhattan Island, totaling only 63 square kilometers (compared to Manhattan’s 59.5 square kilometers). While these islands yet contain plenty of habitat, over collection in past years has all but wiped them out from the wild. Currently they are listed as endangered status by the Japanese government, but in truth you’d be lucky indeed to see one growing in its native home anymore. For the very same reason, the natural hybrid between this species and C. discolor, C. Koozu, is a near ghost on the islands today as well.

Calanthe Kozu — Calanthe Koozu is the natural hybrid of C. izu-insularis and C. discolor. This clone has the typical color pattern for the hybrid, but its flower is much larger than most than since it is an artificially bred triploid.

Calanthe Koozu, is obviously named after the island it was first found. C. discolor is a widespread and common species found throughout most of Japan, Korea and parts of China. The flower of C. Koozu generally has more rounded and wider flower parts than C. izu-insularis, and the sepal and petal color tends to be a more rich, pure purple shade. The lip as well tends to be broader, reminiscent of C. discolor. In many specimens the lip is white, but often has more yellow on its crest and sometimes purple as well. The spur tends to be shorter than in C. izu-insularis and often has a curve to it. Having said all that, variation in color and form can be quite different from plant to plant, possibly due to back crossing and also because of the variability of C. discolor. So, flowers can have thin or wide segments, bicolored flowers to pure white ones, or ones fully suffused with purple, and so on. The flower’s fragrance can be floral, or in some cases have a much more sweet component. It is a real mixed bag – peruse the photos to see this great variation.
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