Continuing our visits to orchid collections in other parts of the world, places we might not be able to get to for a while …
The Botanic Garden on the island of Bali (Kebun Raya Bali) is Indonesia’s largest botanic garden and boasts the world’s largest collection of begonias with 100 species on display, including three endangered species native to Bali. An hour’s drive from Ubud in the central highlands, the garden also has the island’s largest collection of wild orchids, with some 300 species, including Calanthe baliensis, a rare species native to Bali (not out when I visited, unfortunately).
Arundina graminifolia, or the bamboo orchid, is the only member of its genus. Flowers are produced sequentially on top of bamboo-like canes which grow in potting mix (and are often seen as roadside ‘weeds’ in Southeast Asia).
Native to tropical and subtropical Asia from the Himalayas to Tahiti, this is an orchid that can be grown from cool to hot. It occurs naturally from sea level to 1200m and its natural habitats include open areas, grassland, mountains and by rocky streams. This plant, which has had many names, seems to have been described as early as 1790 and was most recently renamed in 1910.
Dendrobium linearifolium is found on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra, Java and Bali, growing on roadside trees in almost full sun at elevations of 700 to 1800m. The plant has long, wiry canes and is a warm to cool-growing epiphyte that blooms all along the stem. The flowers are short lived. It was first described in 1862.
Eria multiflora is a medium-sized, cool to cold-growing epiphytic species found in Java, Sumatra and Bali at elevations of 1400 to 2100m. It was first described in 1825. The genus name comes from from the Greek erion (wool) and refers to the woolly appearance of the flowers and pedicels of some species. Flowers, although profuse, are generally short-lived.
Liparis crenulata is native to Java and Sumatra and is found in wet montane forests at elevations of 650 to 2200m as a medium-sized, warm to cold-growing terrestrial. It was first described in 1830. The genus name again comes for the Greek for ‘greasy’ or ‘shining’ and refers to the smooth, glossy sheen of the leaves.
Vanda tricolor is found on the island of Java and bears profuse numbers of sweetly fragrant flowers carried on bright pink stems. Santa Barbara Orchid Estate in California says the plant, despite its origins in the tropics, is temperature tolerant.
In its native habitat it grows in bright sites, on exposed branches of trees, at heights of 700-1600m. One of the easiest places to find a wild plant are the trees growing near the borders of tea plantations.
Tauranga Orchid Society 