Sickle-winged sheep ear garlic orchid. Photo by Su Xiaojie
Wen\Hainan Daily reporter Zeng Yuhui
There is an ancient verse: "Lan is the king of incense, and the fragrance is in the breeze." Never a cave posture, not a prosperous beauty." For thousands of years, orchids have been alluded to all kinds of beauty, and the poet Moke has not spared no effort to leave a lot of poems of Yonglan, plus orchid plants have good medicinal value, and have a long history of cultivation in Hainan, so they have also been recorded in various classics across the country.
Changjiang Dendrobium. Photo by Fu Huiquan
Nowadays, through the Pilot Area of Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park System, Such as Hangluo Mountain, JianfengLing, Monkey Fox Ridge, Bawang Ridge, Limu Mountain, Parrot Ridge and other areas, in the inaccessible tropical rainforest, or between the crevices of the rock walls of the peaks shrouded in clouds, from time to time you can see orchids with a simple posture quietly blooming, accompanied by a breeze emitting a wisp of fragrance, which is particularly pleasing to the eye.
Dendrobium. Photo by Lu Gang
Fragrant and distant
The stem is erect, the inflorescence has 4 to 6 flowers, and the white lip petals stretch outwards in a "Y" shape, which is a Hainan goldenrod orchid, endemic to Hainan, preferring to grow in forests and peaks at an altitude of 830 to 1200 meters.
The flower stem is upright, high above the leaf shelf, the flower color is mostly lilac brown, embellished with dark purple-brown stripes, it appears large and bright, and the flower fragrance is rich, this orchid is called Mo Lan, it also has a favorite name called "Annunciation Orchid", which can be regarded as a household name orchid "star".
Fringed bemulan. Photo by Mi Hongxu
Flame orchid prefers to grow in the mountain forest at a slightly lower altitude, with cylindrical and climbing stems, inflorescences and leaves, flower bracts are small, but the color is fiery red and delicate like a flame, and recently it has added a new "title" - "National Key Protected Wild Plants". It is reported that the State Forestry and Grassland Administration and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued a new "Directory of Wild Plants under National Key Protection" in September this year, and in this newly adjusted "List", a total of 455 species and 40 categories of wild plants under national key protection were included, which made the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park Administration and many plant protection workers feel happy that among the Hainan orchids, a total of 4 genera and 21 species of goldenrod orchids, orchids, affluent orchids and flame orchids were selected into this new "list".
Zhong Lan. Hainan Daily reporter Su Xiaojie photographed
Over the years, Hainan Island is one of the concentrated distribution areas of orchids in China, and the most comprehensive and systematic information on Hainan orchids can be found in the "Flora of Hainan" compiled by the Guangdong Institute of Botany in 1976, which records that there are 60 genera and 147 species of wild orchids on Hainan Island; From 1998 to 2004, the survey reports of relevant departments showed that the orchid family of Hainan Island had increased to 73 genera and 197 species, and since then, new species, new genera and distribution records have emerged. Just in November 2019, the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences announced the discovery of 11 new species endemic to Hainan, of which 3 are orchids, namely Mo's qulisalis orchid, Li's orchid, and Changjiang basin orchid, which also injects new vitality into the reproduction and growth of Hainan orchids.
Hainan goldenrod. Photo by Lu Gang
Rainforest orchid leafy
Hainan's vast tropical rainforest provides suitable growth conditions for orchids - according to the latest statistics of the relevant departments of our province in 2021, there are 270 species of orchids on Hainan Island, of which 258 species are distributed in the pilot area of the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park system.
It can be seen that as the only area in China with an island tropical rainforest ecosystem, there is a beautiful and mysterious "orchid kingdom" in the vast tropical rainforest of Hainan. In the stretch of mountains, there is no shortage of hard and barren stone walls or deep valleys, and for thousands of years, orchids have learned to coexist and coexist with fungi in order to adapt to the changing flowers, leaves, stems and roots of the Hainan habitat.
Aromatic stone bean orchid. Ji you have Dong photo
According to the survey results of ecological research staff of Hainan University, epiphytic orchids are the most abundantly distributed in Hainan, followed by ground orchids and the least saprophytic orchids. Epiphytic orchid, as the name suggests, is attached to grow in the trunk, of which yellow leaf trees, mosquito mother trees, broken leaf peach, etc. are the main "hosts" of epiphytic orchids in the tropical rainforest of Hainan; Of course, there are also epiphytic orchids that grow in the crevices of hard stone walls, and in such adversity, in order to win sunlight and absorb more nutrients, epiphytic orchids have thick and root-covered air roots that are exposed to the air, so that they can absorb a certain amount of water from the air, or expand a part of the succulent pseudo-bulb to preserve water and win the chance of survival.
Beauty orchid. Photo by Lu Gang
In contrast, saprophytic orchids, like our common mushrooms, cannot photosynthesize and can only rely on mycorrhiza to absorb nutrients, and also occupy a place in the fiercely competitive natural ecology.
Deep in the mountains
Different habitats can give birth to different orchids. According to information provided by the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park Administration, orchids are widely distributed in tropical rainforest areas, but are relatively concentrated in medium and high altitude areas.
Dendrobium nigricans. Photo by Mi Hongxu
According to reports, at an altitude of 100 meters to 300 meters, the vegetation here is mostly shrubland and shrubland, the soil is red soil, the climate is relatively dry, and the wild orchids mainly distributed here are only flame orchids, Meiguan orchids, yellow flower guanguan orchids, short-eared bamboo stem orchids and a few species. At an altitude of 300 to 500 meters, the vegetation in this area is mostly savanna shrubland and deciduous monsoon rain forest, and there are more than 10 species of wild orchids such as pure color Pandan orchid, five-lip orchid and Hainan Phalaenopsis orchid. When the altitude is 500 meters to 800 meters, mainly for tropical lowland rainforest, due to the high air humidity, it is very conducive to the growth and reproduction of orchids, after preliminary statistics, this elevation gradient has a total of 62 species of orchids, namely Hainan Mao orchid, Hainan Dendrobium, Green Flower Orchid, Cowtooth Orchid, Sickle-winged Sheep Ear Garlic, Folded Vein Sheep Ear Garlic and Snake Tongue Orchid. When the altitude is 800 to 1000 meters, the vegetation is dominated by mountain rainforests, and this area is suitable for the growth of split-lipped sheep's ear garlic, heavy-lipped dendrobium, clustered horn orchid, narrow-lipped spider orchid, spider web leaf cryptoliss, tube leaf groove tongue orchid, single-leaf thick-lipped orchid, tentacle broad-leaved orchid, bird-beaked spotted leaf orchid, etc.
Dendrobium. Photo by Lu Gang
In the interview, Hainan orchid plant researchers introduced that when the altitude is 1000 meters to 1500 meters, the vegetation of Hainan tropical rainforest is mostly composed of mountaintop cloud forest, mountain evergreen broad-leaved forest and mountaintop dwarf forest, which is shrouded in clouds and mist all year round, and there are more than 40 kinds of wild orchid plants, such as bay orchid, Dendrobium officinale, sclerophyll orchid, multi-flower orchid, rabbit ear orchid, spoon leaf orchid, etc. Further up the higher altitude of 1500 meters to 1800 meters, due to the slightly lower temperature in the area, the air humidity is extremely high, the soil is mostly meadow soil, only distributed more than 10 species of wild orchid plants such as spotted lip curl orchid orchid, lotus curl orchid orchid, dendrobium dense flower.
Orchids are not only pleasing to the eye, but also medicinal to nourish the body.
After consulting historical materials, the earliest records of the medicinal use of orchid plants are found in the Shennong Materia Medica of the Eastern Han Dynasty, when dendrobium, red arrow (tianma) and white mustard of the orchid family have been used as medicines for curing diseases. In the view of Xing Fuwu, a researcher and doctoral supervisor at the South China Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in terms of medicinal orchids, the "Zhengde Qiongtai Zhi" compiled in 1521 records: "White mustard, leaves like nascent chestnut palms, stem ends with a moss, purple flowers, roots shaped like diamonds, and hairy internodes", of which "white mustard" is actually a perennial herb of the orchid family, so it is not difficult to speculate that as early as 500 years ago, there were records of orchids entering medicine.
Xing Fuwu introduced that as a genus of orchid dendrobium, the Guangxu Ding'an County Chronicle and the Xuantong Ding'an County Chronicle have relevant records: "Dendrobium golden dendrobium, born of the Five Finger Mountain and the Anvil Ridge, spreads to the trees. The mountains are forested and the pickers take it from the trees. Commonly known as golden silk grass, it can chase away the evil heat of the skin, replenish the weakness of internal organs, and grow muscles and nootropics." It can be seen that as early as the Qing Dynasty, some people on Hainan Island went to the tropical rain forests of Wuzhishan and other places to dig up dendrobium medicinal materials for health maintenance and treatment. According to relevant records, as the earliest inhabitants of Hainan Island, the Li people's use of orchids is mainly used for herbal medicine, while the Hainan Li ethnic herbs cover 36 species of orchids, belonging to 23 genera, and the largest species are Dendrobium officinale, up to 7 species. The traditional Li medicine mainly uses the false bulbs, whole grasses and roots of orchids, and the method of use is mainly to decoct and apply externally with water, among which, blood leaf orchid, stone fairy peach, large order spacer orchid, dendrobium, dendrobium nigricans, Meiguan orchid, and dendrobium fringed dendrobium are considered to be used more, and the effect is more obvious.
Lu Gang, director of the Haikou Haolan Wetland Research Institute, has long been concerned about the conservation of hainan's wild animal and plant resources, and he frankly said that although only the wild orchids in Hainan are included in the pharmacopoeia, because some people have always had the wrong concept of "wild is good", many dendrobium species in Hainan that are similar to their forms seem to be difficult to escape the threat of excessive collection. In this regard, Lu Gang also suggested that the relevant departments continue to strengthen resource surveys, in-depth understanding of the species and quantity of orchids in the region, especially to strengthen the study of endangered wild orchids, through artificial cultivation to increase the number of populations, and let them return to the wild, forming a new wild population; At the same time, we will explore the research on hybrid breeding and artificial cultivation techniques, and alleviate the market demand pressure faced by wild orchids by artificially cultivating wild orchids with special value and bringing them to the market.
204 species in 88 genera: the largest of the Orchidaceae of Hainan
According to the "Atlas of Orchids in Hainan" compiled by Lu Gang, Fang Zanshan, Liu Lei and Mi Hongxu in 2018, the Parrot Ridge Area of the Pilot Area of the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park System has rich orchid plant resources, and among the nature reserves in Hainan, the Parrot Ridge Orchid Family has the largest variety of plants.
According to the "Atlas", in recent years, in Kadoorie China Conservation, Hainan University and other scientific research units and parrot ridge national nature reserve continue to carry out ecological scientific research work on orchids, as of now a total of 88 genera of 204 species of wild orchids, accounting for 67.5% of the total number of Hainan orchids, of which, Hainan endemic species have 8 species, namely goldenrod orchid (Baoting golden thread orchid, Hainan open lip orchid), stone bean orchid (Ledong stone bean orchid), horn orchid (horn orchid), dendrobium (Hainan dendrobium), dendrobium genus (Hainan dendrobium), dendrobium genus (Dendrobium officinale), Potted Orchid (Sickle Leaf Pot Orchid), Dendrobium pseudohubarbum (Dendrobium pseudohubarbum).
According to statistics, among the 204 species of orchids in Parrot Ridge, there are 104 species of epiphytic orchids, 87 species of terrestrial orchids, and 13 species of saprophyte orchids, most of which are species that depend on forest habitats, such as species of the genus Asteraceae, shrimp ridge orchids, swamp orchids of the genus Marsh orchid, broad-leaved marsh orchids, and dendrobium of the epiphytic orchid genus Dendrobium, Dendrobium macrophyllum, Dendrobium grandiflorum, etc.
In Parrot Ridge, different habitats can also breed different orchids. For example, below 400 meters above sea level, the local area is mainly farmland, villages and economic forests, due to different degrees of anthropogenic destruction or interference, orchids are significantly less, but in the bushes or grasslands, orchids of the genus Meihua orchid and dibao orchid can sometimes be found. At altitudes of 400 to 700 m, there are small patches of gully rainforests and natural broad-leaved forests in the area, and the number of orchid species has begun to increase, but the species of the genus Goldenrod that depend on forest habitats have not yet seen a significant increase. When the altitude is 800 meters to 1100 meters, the vegetation is mostly montane rain forest and mountain evergreen broad-leaved forest, or there is a large area of primary forest, and the orchids in this altitude area are very densely distributed, accounting for about 85% of the total number of species; However, at altitudes of 1300 to 1800 m, this height is close to the lone peak of Parrot Ridge or close to the peak area, and with changes in vegetation and environment, the species of orchids has dropped significantly to 24% of the total number of species.
Original title: Youlan Sheng Qiong Cliff Smoke waiting for the breeze