It is already common knowledge that the diversity of flora in the land of Papua is so rich. You can find lots of unique and interesting flora here. In fact, some of them are even endemic. So, you could not find it elsewhere. One of the most popular of them all is probably the flora of Papuan Black Orchids.
Not only people in the territory of Indonesia know this type of flora. But, there are many people from abroad who are also curious about this orchid. The reasons are various, from its appearance to its price. So, here are some facts about Papuan Black Orchids that you need to know!
1. How the Orchid Look
One of the attractive points of the Papuan Black Orchids is probably its beauty. If usually orchids are purple or white, then this type of orchid is black. The black orchid is one of the endemic flora of Indonesia. Apart from Papua, this type of flora is also found in Kalimantan.
But, of course, the two orchids come in different types. The Kalimantan one is called Coelogyne Pandurata. While the Papuan one is called Dendrobium Atroviolaceum Rolfe. Many people believe that the Papuan endemic orchids have black petals. Then, in the middle is a combination of purple, yellow, and white.
However, according to research, the Papuan Orchid does not have black petals. Its popular name is the Black Blood Red Dendrobium. The color of the orchid is blood red with grazing black. So, it is obviously different from the one that exists in Kalimantan Island.
2. The Price of the Orchid
Then, another thing that catches this type of orchid from the attention of the public is the price. The price of the Papuan Black Orchids is around Rp100 millions or around $6.450. It is kind of fantastic because the price is for one stalk only. So, if you want to buy five stalks of it, you need to pay around $32.700.
The price is kind of reasonable, because they said that the orchid is indeed very rare. You can only find it in the deep forest of Papua. Then, you can not even breed these orchids outside their habitat. This is certainly very interesting, especially for those of you orchid lovers.
Because of the rarity and difficulty of getting these orchids, it is very common for orchid collectors to be willing to spend that much money on it.
3. The Doubt About the Existence of the Orchid
However, in the research about the Papuan Black Orchids, there is a doubt about its existence. In fact, an orchid expert even said that they have not heard about the orchid. Whereas, they have researched more than dozens of endemic orchids from Papua.
They have more than 40 years of experience but never encountered the orchid. Because of that, many people began to doubt the truth about the black orchid from Papua.
4. Turns out to be a Hybrid Orchid
The researchers finally found an orchid similar to the black orchid from Papua. But it turns out, the orchid is a hybrid orchid and not an endemic flora. The name of the orchid is Cymbidium Kiwi Midnight Geyserland. The flora turned out to be from the United States and not from Papua.
A lecturer from the University of Papua stated that the Papuan Black Orchids is a hybrid of two different orchids. It is the Cymbidium Janet Holland and Cymbidium Khairpour. However, the name is not quite right because the orchid is not endemic flora from Papua.
In the future, those facts might be changed. There may be other orchids that deserve to be called the Papuan Black Orchids. Perhaps, its existence is indeed so rare and hidden in the forest. So, there are no researchers who have found it yet. Well, time will tell.
