orchid austria

[mrcannibal]

Hello,
I found these orchids in austria. Wich are they and how much are there worth?

[Paul Mc]

It's a Cypredium (spelling?). Check with orchid growers in the country to find out how much they go for, but it tends to vary with the species. Also, if you are planning and digging them up you should see if they are protected before doing so. You may face harsh legal penalties if they are.

[lepetitmartien]

Cypripedium calceolus, AFAIK protected all over Europe.

[WhiteRabbit]

Beautiful! As well as being protected, many orchids, including Cyps, don't usually survive being taken from the wild. Take only photos

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Cypripedium calceolus is widely sold, (relatively speaking), in Europe and the US in the orchid niche market for those interested in Cypripediums, sometimes for relatively affordable prices. I only recommend growing Cypripediums for those who are dedicated to putting in the time and effort to growing these beautiful orchids properly. If you want it, please buy it, please don't take it from the wild. Many wild orchids are protected by local government agencies, and collecting them too often in large enough numbers locally puts them in potential danger for local extinction (which has happened to some orchid populations before). If enough people dig out too many wild orchids far too frequently, and because of how slow orchids are to regenerate their populations, it puts them in danger of widespread extinction throughout their natural ranges.

A good example of this problem would be with the orchid Phragmipedium kovachii. I encourage you to read about this orchid's story. The brief summary is - quite a few of the wild populations of Phrag kovachii have been devastated because of over collecting due to the plant's popularity and worth. This problem was very recent and has only happened within the time span of about 5 or so years. Phrag kovachii is just one of these stories.

Another story regards a species of Cattleya. Prior to being over collected in the wild during Victorian times, this particular species of Cattleya (I forgot which species exactly), was found in great abundance along the cliff face of a particular waterfall. After the orchid's location had been discovered, the orchids on the cliff face were nearly stripped clean.

However, there is a caveat...

Sustainably collecting orchid seeds of wild populations and sowing the seeds at an orchid lab that has the ability to sow Cypripedium seeds successfully could end up increasing the number of Cypripedium population rather than decrease them. Certain government agencies are far more likely to allow this with proper permission than to allow the removal of the plant itself!

[Paul Mc]

Very good point King!