Orchid hunters
Encyclopedia
Orchid hunting is the search for orchid plants
in the wild. The orchid plants are usually being acquired for the commercial market, where there was, and still is, significant demand for these unusual flowering plants.
In 1818, William John Swainson was collecting plants in Rio de Janeiro
. He sent a box of tropical plants he had acquired to London. As a packing material he used orchids
, which he believed were parasitic plants. Surprisingly, one of the orchids bloomed on arrival, and Londoners were astonished by the unusual shape and colors of the flower. That single flower triggered "orchid fever", which resulted in many deaths in pursuit of the plants. However, there is some evidence that this conventional story about using specimens of Cattleya labiata
as packing material is just a myth - Swainson actually saw exceptionally showy flowers of this orchid and understood its real value. And upon arrival to Barnet orchids were provided with proper care
About half of the orchid plants sent to Europe did not survive the trip. The demand grew, the plants became more and more expensive, and the profession of orchid hunter was created. Orchid hunters faced tropical diseases, wild animals and poisonous snakes, floods, cannibalistic
tribes, and often fierce competition from each other.
In 1901, eight orchid hunters went to look for rare orchids in the Philippines
. One of the hunters was eaten by a tiger, another had oil spilled on him and was burned alive, and five others vanished completely. The man who survived the ordeal collected 7,000 orchid specimens.
Another group of orchid hunters in Papua New Guinea
were captured and held hostage. Two members of the party were beheaded before Indonesian troops came to their rescue.
Colombia
is said to be one of the best places to hunt for orchids, but it also used to be one of the hardest places to survive the hunt. William Arnold drowned in the fast and wild Orinoco River while on a collecting expedition; David Bowman
died from dysentery
; and yellow fever
killed Gustavo Wallis in the Andean mountains.
Albert Millican was both a painter and orchid hunter. He knew that hunting for the orchids was a dangerous business. He wrote about his expedition's supplies:
The competition between the hunters was intense. William Arnold got into a confrontation with another orchid hunter which almost ended up in a duel
. When Arnold wrote about this to his employer, he was ordered to follow the other man, collect the same specimens he did, and try to urinate on the other man's collection in order to kill his orchids. No matter how homesick and lonely the orchid hunters were, they never made friends with their rivals.
Wilhelm Micholitz was one of the best orchid hunters. Once the boat he was on caught fire; the orchids he had collected perished, but Micholitz survived. He cabled the news to his employer Sander, and was ordered to return and to recollect, despite the fact that the rainy season made the collection of orchids all but impossible. One entry in Micholitz's diary was made in Bogota
:
It was not surprising that Micholitz dreamed about peace after witnessing a horrific fight between locals in Papua New Guinea
. The fight left many wounded and dead, three of whom were also beheaded, and one was missing his hands, feet and penis. Those locals were supposed to be helping Micholitz with his orchid search, but after the fight they refused to continue.
Orchid hunters who survived their ordeals came home with incredible stories. They claimed that cannibals on the Solomon Islands
tortured their human sacrifices with the most beautiful blooming orchids placed around them so that the victims were able to see the color of the flowers growing richer from their own blood. Fosterman, who was hunting for orchids in Brazil
, described his adventure in the "village of the demon flowers". He claimed that the orchids his party found there were the most beautiful he had ever seen, but he said that the flowers had a very bad smell, an odor that literally was strong enough to kill people. His men circled this village and saw abundant orchids everywhere, but because the smell was so deadly, the flowers were simply impossible to reach, like a lovely mirage
.
From 15 February to 16 March 2003, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
ran their ninth orchid festival with a theme: "In Search of Paradise". The exhibit included letters, diaries and paintings on the theme of "daring tales of Victorian exploration" and orchid hunting.
, a plant hunter who follows the tradition of the Victorian
and Edwardian orchid hunters, was held in 2000 by kidnappers thought to be FARC guerillas in the Darien Gap
between Panama
and Colombia
, while hunting for rare orchids, a plant for which he has a particular passion. He and his travel companion, Paul Winder, were held captive for nine months, and threatened with death. Hart Dyke kept his morale up by creating a design for a garden containing plants collected on his trips, laid out in the shape of a world map, the plants being positioned according to the respective continents of their origin.
Orchidaceae
The Orchidaceae, commonly referred to as the orchid family, is a morphologically diverse and widespread family of monocots in the order Asparagales. Along with the Asteraceae, it is one of the two largest families of flowering plants, with between 21,950 and 26,049 currently accepted species,...
in the wild. The orchid plants are usually being acquired for the commercial market, where there was, and still is, significant demand for these unusual flowering plants.
The Victorian era
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
. He sent a box of tropical plants he had acquired to London. As a packing material he used orchids
Orchidaceae
The Orchidaceae, commonly referred to as the orchid family, is a morphologically diverse and widespread family of monocots in the order Asparagales. Along with the Asteraceae, it is one of the two largest families of flowering plants, with between 21,950 and 26,049 currently accepted species,...
, which he believed were parasitic plants. Surprisingly, one of the orchids bloomed on arrival, and Londoners were astonished by the unusual shape and colors of the flower. That single flower triggered "orchid fever", which resulted in many deaths in pursuit of the plants. However, there is some evidence that this conventional story about using specimens of Cattleya labiata
Cattleya labiata
Cattleya labiata Lindl., also known as the Crimson Cattleya or Ruby-lipped Cattleya, is the type species of Cattleya, discovered in 1818 in Brazil. The genus was named in honor of Sir William Cattley, a prominent British horticulturist....
as packing material is just a myth - Swainson actually saw exceptionally showy flowers of this orchid and understood its real value. And upon arrival to Barnet orchids were provided with proper care
About half of the orchid plants sent to Europe did not survive the trip. The demand grew, the plants became more and more expensive, and the profession of orchid hunter was created. Orchid hunters faced tropical diseases, wild animals and poisonous snakes, floods, cannibalistic
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
tribes, and often fierce competition from each other.
In 1901, eight orchid hunters went to look for rare orchids in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. One of the hunters was eaten by a tiger, another had oil spilled on him and was burned alive, and five others vanished completely. The man who survived the ordeal collected 7,000 orchid specimens.
Another group of orchid hunters in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
were captured and held hostage. Two members of the party were beheaded before Indonesian troops came to their rescue.
Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
is said to be one of the best places to hunt for orchids, but it also used to be one of the hardest places to survive the hunt. William Arnold drowned in the fast and wild Orinoco River while on a collecting expedition; David Bowman
David Bowman (botanist)
David Bowman was a Scottish plant collector who, in 1866, was sent by James Veitch & Sons to collect in Brazil. The species Dieffenbachia bowmanii is named after him.-Career:...
died from dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
; and yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
killed Gustavo Wallis in the Andean mountains.
Albert Millican was both a painter and orchid hunter. He knew that hunting for the orchids was a dangerous business. He wrote about his expedition's supplies:
The competition between the hunters was intense. William Arnold got into a confrontation with another orchid hunter which almost ended up in a duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
. When Arnold wrote about this to his employer, he was ordered to follow the other man, collect the same specimens he did, and try to urinate on the other man's collection in order to kill his orchids. No matter how homesick and lonely the orchid hunters were, they never made friends with their rivals.
Wilhelm Micholitz was one of the best orchid hunters. Once the boat he was on caught fire; the orchids he had collected perished, but Micholitz survived. He cabled the news to his employer Sander, and was ordered to return and to recollect, despite the fact that the rainy season made the collection of orchids all but impossible. One entry in Micholitz's diary was made in Bogota
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
:
It was not surprising that Micholitz dreamed about peace after witnessing a horrific fight between locals in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
. The fight left many wounded and dead, three of whom were also beheaded, and one was missing his hands, feet and penis. Those locals were supposed to be helping Micholitz with his orchid search, but after the fight they refused to continue.
Orchid hunters who survived their ordeals came home with incredible stories. They claimed that cannibals on the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
tortured their human sacrifices with the most beautiful blooming orchids placed around them so that the victims were able to see the color of the flowers growing richer from their own blood. Fosterman, who was hunting for orchids in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, described his adventure in the "village of the demon flowers". He claimed that the orchids his party found there were the most beautiful he had ever seen, but he said that the flowers had a very bad smell, an odor that literally was strong enough to kill people. His men circled this village and saw abundant orchids everywhere, but because the smell was so deadly, the flowers were simply impossible to reach, like a lovely mirage
Mirage
A mirage is a naturally occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays are bent to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French mirage, from the Latin mirare, meaning "to look at, to wonder at"...
.
From 15 February to 16 March 2003, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to as Kew Gardens, is 121 hectares of gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London, England. "The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew" and the brand name "Kew" are also used as umbrella terms for the institution that runs...
ran their ninth orchid festival with a theme: "In Search of Paradise". The exhibit included letters, diaries and paintings on the theme of "daring tales of Victorian exploration" and orchid hunting.
Modern orchid hunting
Modern orchid hunting is not without its dangers. Tom Hart DykeTom Hart Dyke
-External links:*...
, a plant hunter who follows the tradition of the Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
and Edwardian orchid hunters, was held in 2000 by kidnappers thought to be FARC guerillas in the Darien Gap
Darién Gap
The Darién Gap is a large swath of undeveloped swampland and forest separating Panama's Darién Province in Central America from Colombia in South America. It measures just over long and about wide. Roadbuilding through this area is expensive, and the environmental toll is steep. Political...
between Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
and Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, while hunting for rare orchids, a plant for which he has a particular passion. He and his travel companion, Paul Winder, were held captive for nine months, and threatened with death. Hart Dyke kept his morale up by creating a design for a garden containing plants collected on his trips, laid out in the shape of a world map, the plants being positioned according to the respective continents of their origin.