By Cynthia Boesse, Photos by Dr. Donald Leopold
Thanks to The Roosevelt Wild Life Station:
http://www.esf.edu/resorg/rooseveltwildlife/
The importance of biodiversity
Biodiversity refers to the natural species
composition of organisms (both plants and
animals) in a given ecosystem. If all these species
are present in a given ecosystem, this indicates
conditions are optimal for the healthy functioning
of the ecosystem.
All life on earth is dependent on these ecosystem
processes, therefore, maintenance of biodiversity
is an essential and worthwhile endeavor.
Cyp reginae var alba
Why conserve orchids?
According to the New York Natural Heritage Program, when rare plants are protected,
distinctive populations of species are preserved along with their genetic variation within
their natural habitat.
Because orchids are the most evolved of all flowering plants, they are very site-specific
and need optimum conditions to thrive in a given ecosystem.
If orchids are present in an ecosystem, this is a good indicator of a healthy, functioning
ecosystem.
Additionally, many orchid flowers and their habitats are beautiful, and provide pleasure
to those who seek out these unique members of the plant kingdom.
Visiting orchid sites
Discovering an orchid growing in the wild is an exciting experience.
Once discovered, the places where these rare, beautiful plants grow can become popular
sites for naturalists, photographers, and unfortunately, poachers.
As stated in the page on the orchid family, these plants are sensitive to disturbance.
Just visiting and admiring these plants in the wild could potentially harm their chances of
success. When visiting a site, tread lightly! Remember some orchids can remain
underground for several years, so you may be disturbing the habitat of one plant while
stooping to photograph another. Year after year of this abuse may eventually destroy
some of the population.
Spiranthes romanzoffiana (Hooded Ladies Tress) in a
graminoid fen, a peat accumulating wetland that receives
groundwater input from surrounding or underlying mineral
soil. Fens have a higher nutrient content than bogs, and
contain significant amounts of calcium, magnesium and
other nutrients. Fens support a high diversity of plant
species. Fens are pH circumneutral to basic due to
groundwater inputs. You can learn about more orchid
habitats on The Roosevelt Wild Life Station website.
Photography
While photographers are typically innocent admirers of orchids, some will remove
“spent” flowers to get that perfect picture. While this doesn’t hurt the individual plant, it
has lost its chance to form seeds and expand its population. Some photographers will go
so far as to remove and kill the plant, assuring that no one else has the chance to
photograph it! Not only is this illegal, the consequences to the plant are obvious.
Poaching
The worst crime against orchids is poaching. Some are dissatisfied with seeking orchids
to view in their natural environment and transplant these plants to their yards or sell them
to nurseries for a high price. Primarily, this is illegal according to the NY Environmental
Law, although the fines are small for those obsessed with possessing a rare plant.
According to Keenan (1998), poaching has extirpated all of the beautiful showy lady’sslippers
(Cypripedium reginae) from Acadia National Park in Maine. Obviously,
poaching destroys natural populations of orchids, but other detrimental effects may be
less obvious. First of all, removing plants from their natural habitat doesn’t allow anyone
else to enjoy their beauty. Secondly, since orchid habitats are so sensitive, they typically
die several years after being transplanted into a garden. Not only does this kill the
individual plant, it also destroys its chances for reproduction.
Collecting and buying orchids
The NY Environmental Conservation law ensures protection for all orchids in NY.
All of these plants are considered exploitatively vulnerable, while some are afforded
protection as threatened or endangered species.
Increasingly more nurseries are offering native orchids, and although most are very
challenging to grow, some are relatively easy. Reputable nurseries can gain permission to
collect orchids from sites destined for destruction, such as a new construction site. Also,
new propagation techniques and patience with growing from seeds have allowed some
species to be offered on the market. As more nurseries offer native orchids, this will
hopefully decrease the amount of poaching.
For more information
http://www.esf.edu/ResOrg/RooseveltWildlife/Research/Orchid/Orchid.htm
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