When should wild orchids be collected to save them?

[Russell 99]

Guys, this question has been going on in my head for quite some time now, it's about when should wild orchids be collected to save them. The laws are different from country to country and some are even old that they are not appropriate sometimes(in my opinion).

So lets say you find some wild orchids(on sides of orchids/public places etc...) , and these orchids are in decline because the environment they are in is no longer suitable for them, what would you do, would you relocate, collect them, or let them die slowly and go to waste.

What if it was growing in some private land or land that has been separated from the forest, and that land is being cleared up with all those precious orchids and other valuable plants , would you try to collect those orchids and save them.

Finally, if you find orchids in their natural habitat, but are weak(I've seen some broken barely clinging to the tree with a root or two) , or fallen down on the forest floor, would leaving them to die, tie them up to a tree(no guarantee that they would survive depending of the condition of the plant) or collect it.


Totally unrelated to the question :Also how do you check the posts you have made on this forum, I can't find the post unless I have to search my emails, also do you have a group on any social media site like Facebook, WhatsApp etc....

[Fairorchids]

I assume that you are in the US. In that case the answer is easy: You Can't.

To be allowed to rescue transplant, you need a permit (license?). If you want to apply, start with the Agricultural Dept. in your state.

PS. Don't post the same issue in multiple forums. If moderators think you have posted in the wrong forum, they will move the thread.

[Shadeflower]

remnds me a bit of the question "if my bank accidentally deposits hundred million dollars into my account and I spend it all will I have to pay it back?"

Firslty, it would not happen, secondly you could not spend it in time and thirdly no it would not be yours.

I know not the right questin but since to me both are hypotheticals that won't happen it shouldn't really matter.

As a sidenote our planet will be a burning ball of fire in roughly 120 years time and all orchids will be extinct by then anyway.
Unless Mr Musk has a plan to take them along on his spaceship, he did say he wants a copy of everything on Mars.

[tmoney]

well, to me the only time that might be appropriate or applicable is if you are part of a team that is funded by a recognized conservation entity that has been tasked with conserving such a plant. otherwise, do you really know if it’s endangered? do you have the means to guarantee survival, otherwise take and kill a few and you may have done that species a very large disservice.

so yeah, prolly not a good idea. like, take it to the extreme....if you knew of a species that once existed only in your area...it was thought to be extinct, but you positively id one ona hike one day. do you take it?

that’s a responsibility i wouldn’t want, even if i were never caught!

[AnonYMouse]

Contact the experts and let them deal with it. Laymen can do a lot of harm, to the species and the environment.

If you want to know what you posted, click on your name (on a Mac, at least). You will get a pull down menu, one of the options is a list of all your posts.

[camille1585]

I have deleted the duplicate thread in the beginner forum. In the future, if you would like to move a thread to a different forum, please contact a mod or administrator and one of us can do it for you.

We also generally discourage double posting since it can make it confusing for people replying who may not see that someone answered similarly in another thread.

[Fishkeeper]

This is definitely a matter that needs to be left to the experts.

I've read a little about how they deal with this sort of thing, and the answer is, they generally try to take specimens of anything that's new to science or concerningly rare.

However, there's a problem with that: they have to get the local government to agree. They can't just go around taking plants without permission, or nobody will let them come and do science anywhere any more. But local governments don't always want a foreign scientist coming over and taking plants, because of multiple cases where someone went to another country, took plants, and then got rich selling them while the country the plants were from got nothing.

As for plants that are failing in their native habitat, you don't touch those. If they're weak, they probably aren't very healthy plants, and you don't want those in the gene pool.

So the answer is, YOU as a person do not touch them. That's very illegal and doesn't help get them into conservation-related cultivation. If you feel that an area deserves attention, you call an expert. The experts will generally save what they can, if their resources allow it, they feel it's important enough, and they can get permission.

[Russell 99]

Originally Posted by Fairorchids

I assume that you are in the US. In that case the answer is easy: You Can't.

To be allowed to rescue transplant, you need a permit (license?). If you want to apply, start with the Agricultural Dept. in your state.

PS. Don't post the same issue in multiple forums. If moderators think you have posted in the wrong forum, they will move the thread.

Thanks Kim, and yes they are protected under the flora and fauna protection act, not sure weather they issue those type of licences here, will check that out.
Sorry about that double post.

---------- Post added at 10:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:08 PM ----------

Originally Posted by tmoney

well, to me the only time that might be appropriate or applicable is if you are part of a team that is funded by a recognized conservation entity that has been tasked with conserving such a plant. otherwise, do you really know if it’s endangered? do you have the means to guarantee survival, otherwise take and kill a few and you may have done that species a very large disservice.

so yeah, prolly not a good idea. like, take it to the extreme....if you knew of a species that once existed only in your area...it was thought to be extinct, but you positively id one ona hike one day. do you take it?

that’s a responsibility i wouldn’t want, even if i were never caught!

Thanks tmoney, yep, that's true also, wild orchids require specific growing conditions in order to grow properly.

---------- Post added at 10:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:22 PM ----------

Originally Posted by AnonYMouse

Contact the experts and let them deal with it. Laymen can do a lot of harm, to the species and the environment.

If you want to know what you posted, click on your name (on a Mac, at least). You will get a pull down menu, one of the options is a list of all your posts.

Thanks AnonYmouse,
Will definitely contact someone in this field and will check about it.

Thanks again, found all the subscribed posts on this forum.

---------- Post added at 10:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:29 PM ----------

Originally Posted by camille1585

I have deleted the duplicate thread in the beginner forum. In the future, if you would like to move a thread to a different forum, please contact a mod or administrator and one of us can do it for you.

We also generally discourage double posting since it can make it confusing for people replying who may not see that someone answered similarly in another thread.

Thanks camille, will be sure to not make that mistake again in the future.

---------- Post added at 10:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:31 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Fishkeeper

This is definitely a matter that needs to be left to the experts.

I've read a little about how they deal with this sort of thing, and the answer is, they generally try to take specimens of anything that's new to science or concerningly rare.

However, there's a problem with that: they have to get the local government to agree. They can't just go around taking plants without permission, or nobody will let them come and do science anywhere any more. But local governments don't always want a foreign scientist coming over and taking plants, because of multiple cases where someone went to another country, took plants, and then got rich selling them while the country the plants were from got nothing.

As for plants that are failing in their native habitat, you don't touch those. If they're weak, they probably aren't very healthy plants, and you don't want those in the gene pool.

So the answer is, YOU as a person do not touch them. That's very illegal and doesn't help get them into conservation-related cultivation. If you feel that an area deserves attention, you call an expert. The experts will generally save what they can, if their resources allow it, they feel it's important enough, and they can get permission.

Thanks Fishkeeper, yes that happened with some wild orchids, an endemic dendrobium, endangered in habitat, can be found in the US and on Ebay for sale, quite an expensive and rare to find for plant for sale out of the country of origin, and yes as I know the country that the plant originates from gained nothing.
I'll try to contact some experts and get their opinion about this situation.

[Roberta]

Along with the fact that taking a plant from the wild is illegal in nearly all countries (at least those that are signatories to CITES) it is likely to kill the plant - plants in the wild are tightly integrated into the ecosystem where they occur. They are unlikely to survive in captivity, unless they receive expert care. If you find something that is rare, contact the experts - university or public agency or conservation organization that deals with these - who are already involved with conservation efforts. Don't reveal location except to those. Don't ever, ever take orchids from the wild - even if they are common. There are plenty of sources of nursery-grown orchid species, and those have a much better chance of surviving ex-situ.

[Russell 99]

Originally Posted by Roberta

Along with the fact that taking a plant from the wild is illegal in nearly all countries (at least those that are signatories to CITES) it is likely to kill the plant - plants in the wild are tightly integrated into the ecosystem where they occur. They are unlikely to survive in captivity, unless they receive expert care. If you find something that is rare, contact the experts - university or public agency or conservation organization that deals with these - who are already involved with conservation efforts. Don't reveal location except to those. Don't ever, ever take orchids from the wild - even if they are common. There are plenty of sources of nursery-grown orchid species, and those have a much better chance of surviving ex-situ.

Thanks Roberta, yes I agree, they need their own specific growing conditions in order proper, I've never revealed their location to anyone, in the case of nursery grown species I can tell that none of those species are grown in nurseries, and recently(2020) there was a huge demand for rhynchostylis retusa and many plants were removed from their habitat, mostly the people who removed them wanted to make a quick buck from them, so they didn't care about the plants(plants were twisted most had there roots ripped off, broken plants, most of them could have taken 5/10 or even 20 years to grow) , most of the plants were bound to die in the hands or beginners, you might be wondering why weren't there why weren't there nursery grow plants there was but not local, all imported plants that marketed at almost 10 times the price of that, this made it really hard for a common person to buy a few plants. (even wild alba varieties were for sale.) but majority of local species aren't propagated.