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Kylie Knott

With their intricate shapes and rich colours, it is no wonder orchids are regarded as one of nature’s masterpieces.
Among the world’s largest families of flowering plants, with almost 30,000 species, their cultural roots run deep.
In China, orchids embody virtues such as integrity and nobility and are considered one of the “four gentlemen” of the plant world, along with chrysanthemums, plum blossom and bamboo.
In Thailand, they are considered a national symbol of respect and honour, and in Japan, they represent luxury and perfection.












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A post shared by 嘉道理農場暨植物園 （ KFBG ） (@kfbg.official)



Hong Kong has a rich variety of native orchids – 133 known species, in fact – and spring, with its combination of high rainfall and humidity, produces the ideal damp environment for them to thrive.
To celebrate orchids, Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (KFBG), in Tai Po in the city’s New Territories, is hosting a festival, “Nature Exploration – Orchid Encounters”, on April 25 that includes a tour of its facilities that house local orchids and orchids from the India-Myanmar region, as well as a workshop on repotting that will outline how to care for orchids.

Stephan Gale, head of the flora conservation department at KFBG, says the diversity of orchids in the wild in Hong Kong is astonishing.
The plants’ elegance, colours, shape and beauty, he says, make them desirable as house plants. Buying orchids from a market in Hong Kong, however, can be tricky.
Some have been collected from the wild illegally, and buying these not only impacts biodiversity but threatens the populations of wild orchids, says Gale.
There are ways to differentiate between illegal wild orchids and legal, sustainably propagated ones.
“Nursery-grown blooms are legal and consumers can tell the difference from wild orchids because the plants are usually potted in uniform batches and look healthy,” says Gale, co-author of A Guide to Orchids of Hong Kong and A Guide to Orchids of Laos.

Illegally harvested orchids usually have messy, exposed roots and the leaves often show signs of insect damage. Some may still be attached to the branches of forest trees, he adds.
Gale has spent more than a decade spearheading orchid conservation in the region, his research leading to the reintroduction of rare plants and improved understanding of the threats they face in the wild, including genetic erosion and poaching to feed the illegal trade in them.
“In 2018, we published a study based on research where we visited markets across south China – from Yunnan to Hong Kong,” he says. “The results were pretty depressing – we estimated that about 1.5 million plants are traded illegally every year.”

The volume of illegally traded orchids in Hong Kong, Gale says, is quite small. And things have improved over the years, with fewer being sold at markets. “You have to look a bit harder to find them,” he adds.
The import and export of wild orchids is restricted in Hong Kong under the Cites (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) treaty which protects endangered plants and animals. Those breaking the law face a maximum fine of HK$100,000 (US$12,800) and a year’s imprisonment.
Gale says he has not heard of a single enforcement case in Hong Kong involving the illegal trade of wild orchids.
While the illegal trade over the border in China is “eye-watering”, Gale says, progress has been made in the past couple of years. “The mainland government has done a lot more to protect wild orchids by including more as protected species,” he says.

At KFBG, research focuses not only on orchids in their natural environment but on conserving species outside their natural habitats. This allows KFBG researchers to raise juvenile orchid plants to reintroduce them to the wild on the KFBG site to help foster new, healthy populations.
Its staff give the pollination process a helping hand by basically doing the job that insects do in the wild.
“When people imagine an orchid they think of the big colourful blooms you see in the Mong Kok flower market. But the reality is that, for many wild orchids, the flowers are quite small.
“To carry out hand pollination, you have to access a part of the flower that’s microscopic, often less than a millimetre in diameter,” Gale says.

A fine, precise tool like a needle is required to transfer the pollen. Gale has even used a naturally fallen sharp quill from an East Asian porcupine, one of the many animal species found wandering the KFBG grounds.
Orchids have inspired historians, artists and poets for centuries. During China’s Song dynasty (960–1279) the delicate Cymbidium species was the focus of paintings, with artists depicting them with detailed outlines and colour in a process known as gongbi – painting with detailed strokes.
British-born, Hong Kong-based botanical artist Sally Bunker has drawn many orchids. Her illustrations are seen to best effect in Portraits of Trees of Hong Kong and Southern China, a book which was recently made available in Chinese.

“Painting an orchid is a challenge as these flowers are complex in design and colour,” says Bunker. A lot of patience is required, she says. Being a perfectionist can also help.
“It is said that with orchids, the flower formation and nature’s design have reached perfection, and the artist must try and convey this, and depict the essence of the flowers.”
“Nature Exploration – Orchid Encounters”, April 25, Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, Lam Kam Road, Tai Po, New Territories. A guided tour runs 11am-11.45am; a workshop runs 2.30pm-3.30pm. Enrolment fee: HK$450 per person, including shuttle bus to upper farm and an orchid


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Why orchids are so loved: festival in Hong Kong celebrates the flowers’ beauty and shows how to raise them at home

A customer selects orchids to buy at Chiba Garden in Lam Tsuen, Tai Po, Hong Kong. In China, orchids are considered one of the “four gentlemen” of the plant world. Photo: Eugene Lee

The KFBG Orchid Festival celebrates the beauty and culture of the flowers. Photo: KFBG 

The orchid festival includes an orchid repotting workshop. Photo: KFBG

Flowers and leaves of the orchid Dendrobium nobile, painted by botanical artist Sally Bunker. Photo: Sally Bunker

A Cymbidium orchid drawn by Bunker. Photo: Sally Bunker

An orchid on bark painted by Sally Bunker. “Painting an orchid is a challenge as these flowers are complex in design and colour,” the Hong Kong-based artist says. Photo: Sally Bunker

The orchid festival includes a tour of Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden’s orchid greenhouse. Photo: KFBG 

Where are all the bees and butterflies? UK’s wildlife is in drastic decline, which struck me after 28 years in Hong Kong

Bees and butterflies have been in dramatic decline in the UK in recent years, while a significant portion of the country’s wildlife is at risk of disappearing all together. Photo: Shutterstock

People in the UK with gardens are being encouraged to make them more wildlife friendly, such as by not mowing their grass. Photo: Shutterstock

Manicured lawns may have more aesthetic appeal, but do not do as much to promote biodiversity as longer grass. Photo: Shutterstock

Water buffaloes on Lantau Island, Hong Kong. Photo: Dickson Lee

A wild boar sniffs a walker on Tai Mo Shan, Hong Kong. Photo: May Tse

Illegal wildlife trade still needs tougher penalties, say Hong Kong experts after rare turtle smuggling case

Illegally trafficked: some of the Ryukyu black-breasted leaf turtles that were sent home to Japan from Hong Kong in March 2019. Photo: Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden

This image shows Dr Gary Ades, head of the fauna conservation department at Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden. Photo / Robin Fall [2016 FEATURES LIFE]

Hong Kong wildlife seizures (excluding wood logs) from 2013-17 (metric tonnes)

Data on commonly traded endangered species in Hong Kong

Parts of endangered animals seized by The Customs and Excise Department on display while the Department holds a year end round up press conference at the Kwai Chung Customs Headquarters. 05SEP18 SCMP / K. Y. Cheng

The Ryukyu Black-breasted Leaf Turtles were looked after at KFBG before they were sent home to Japan in March 2019. Photo KFBG

The Ryukyu Black-breasted Leaf Turtles are carefully placed in cotton bags by KFBG staff which were then transferred to a specially designed wooden transport crate. Photo KFBG

Some of the bodies of approximately 4000 pangolins defrosting after their seizure, hidden inside a shipping container at a port in Sumatra, Indonesia. Photo: Paul Hilton

Orchid paintings and drawings on show in Hong Kong show botanical artist’s eye for the small details

Detail from Acanthephippium sinense (2013) by Mark Isaac-Williams, a watercolour of the endangered orchid species found in Hong Kong and other parts of China. Photo: Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden

Dendrobium pendulum.jpg: Dendrobium pendulum (2016) by Mark Isaac-Williams, watercolour of the endangered orchid species found in Southeast Asia.

KFBG Botanical Artist-in-Residence, Mark Isaac-Williams, at his exhibition at Kadoorie Farm Botanical Gardens in Tai Po. 15MAY21 SCMP / Jonathan Wong

Botanical artist Mark Isaac-Williams, 81, does some sketching at his Green Fingers, Artist’s Hands exhibition at Kadoorie Farm and Botanical Garden in Tai Po. He first worked there as a horticulturist in 1979, and was artist-in-residence until last year. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Extinction message in artist Zheng Bo’s floral exhibition – ‘We need to learn how to live with  other species,’ he says

Part of Zheng Bo's exhibition "Life is Hard. Why Do We Make It So Easy?" at Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden in Tai Po. Photo: Jockey Club New Arts Power

Handout image of Botanical sketches by Zheng Bo, on display in the Art House, Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden.[FEATURES]CREDIT: Jockey Club New Arts Power

Handout image of Zheng Bo's exhibition "Life is Hard. Why Do We Make It So Easy?" at Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden [FEATURES]CREDIT: Jockey Club New Arts Power

Handout image of The orchid nursery in Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden.[FEATURES]CREDIT: Jockey Club New Arts Power

Zheng Bo at his living exhibition "Life is Hard. Why Do We Make It So Easy?" at Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden in Tai Po, Hong Kong. Photo: Jockey Club New Arts Power

Lifestyle

Travel & Leisure

An orchid festival at Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden in Hong Kong celebrates the beauty and culture of a plant regarded as one of nature’s masterpieces
Ahead of the event, ecologist describes how to avoid buying a wild orchid and fuelling the illegal trade in them, and hails progress in fighting the poachers


In China, orchids are considered one of the ‘four gentlemen’ of the plant world. Find out why at an orchid festival in Hong Kong – as well as how to avoid buying an illegally harvested wild specimen.


Conservation

What to do in Hong Kong