BLACK ORCHIDS

Black Orchids

Black orchids? What are these mystic black colored orchids trying to convey? I don’t think sending somebody some black orchids for celebration, as black color is the reflection of darkness, sadness and mystery, although it could mean strength and toughness.

Black orchids are indeed a bit mysterious. First is the black color. Not all black orchids are actually totally black in color. There are many variation of the black color in combination with other colors as well as the black coloring of different parts of the flower. As a matter of fact, some of the so called black orchids possess only a very small portion of black and even without any black at all.

Black orchids are included in the Bulbophyllum genus, since they are characterized by a bulb-like shape (bulbus) surrounded by several leaves (phyllon). Bulbophyllum is considered as the largest genus under the Orchid Family with around 1805 species including a wide variety of the black orchid species.

The second mystery is their identification. Due to their wide variance of the Bulbophyllum in their appearance, smell, form, growth pattern and environment it will be quite difficult to identify whether an orchid belongs to the Bulbophyllum genus or to another one. The identification is done through looking at their specific characteristics as well as the structure of the flower and plant. Imagine identifying black orchids which are not black at all. It is really a hard job to do, even for the experienced taxonomist.

Black orchids can be found in various countries with rain forests or jungles. They live in South East Asia, Papua New Guinea, Africa and South America. These exotic and beautiful orchids however are under serious threats of being extinct due to the changing environment and habitat caused by man. To mention a few are the Bulbophyllum filiforme from Cameroon and Nigeria, and the Bulbophyllum Kupense also from Cameroon.

In the States black orchids can be found in South Florida brought from the Central American Jungles. Black orchids are actually native to these Central American Jungles where they thrive best under indirect sunlight or low intensity of sunlight. In Belize the black orchids are proclaimed as the national flower of the Central American country of Belize. Bringing these flowers out of Belize is strictly prohibited. Any violation or trying to smuggle the flowers out of Belize will be charged a heavy penalty.

Borneo Black Orchids

In Borneo or known today as Kalimantan Island – which is the biggest island in the Indonesian Republic - a species of black orchids, Coelogyne pandurata, can be found. This species is characterized by black spots on a white base at the labellum, with five green petals surrounding the bulb.

They can also be found in Malaysia, Sumatra (another Indonesian island) and in the Philippines such as Mindanao, Luzon and Samar islands. They usually grow on old trees close to the shore or swamp areas with warm temperature.

They grow wild in Kalimantan rain forests and have been neglected and perceived as wild flowers with no value. It is only in the recent decade that Kalimantan black orchids become into sight due to its scarcity and commercial value.  

These Kalimantan black orchids are under the protection of the Indonesian Republic Regulation #7 dated January 27, 1999. But still, these poor flowers are being smuggled out of Indonesia ever since due the increasing global demand of wild orchids including these black orchids.

As they becoming scarce due to massive illegal logging in the past causing serious damage in the environmental habitat of these exotic flowers, the value of a black orchid increases and is exploited as commercial merchandise.