Griya Anggrek (House of Orchids): Bogor, West Java

Orchids are adored by everybody for their colour, beauty and fragrance and are a delight for photographers. Travelling through Indonesia you are bound to come across the botanical favourite whether it be in a hotel lobby or in the jungle.

There are many orchid centres in Indonesia. Two that have impressed me immensely are the Bali Botanical Gardens in Candikuning, North Bali, and the other is the Bogor Botanical Gardens. Theresia Sufa wrote an article about an orchid centre, Griya Anggrek, that is leading the conservation charge in saving some of the rarest orchids from around the archipelago:

Home to hundreds of orchid species, Griya Anggrek, or House of Orchids, is a haven for flower lovers and those who are hungry to know more about this country’s rich biodiversity.

In all likelihood, no-one thinks about the hard work scientists have put in to preserve hundreds of species of the delicate flower.

The joyful expressions on visitors’ faces might inspire the scientists to keep going, though.

Griya Anggrek was inaugurated by former president Megawati Sukarnoputri in 2002 to showcase the plants grown by Bogor Botanical Garden’s orchid cultivation and study center.

The orchid center was established in the 1950s. It mission is to safeguard the country’s native orchid species and develop hybrids. A plant tissue culture laboratory was later built in 1975 so that scientists from the botanical garden, and students, could conduct research.

Visitor Erry, who was in Bogor on business, said she had long planned to visit Griya Anggrek. She had often heard about it from her fellow orchid lovers in her hometown of Sragen, Central Java. One day she found some time in her tight schedule to visit. She had no regrets as she treasured the varied and colorful collection.

Erry mostly collects orchids sold in nurseries. She said she found hybrid orchids beautiful, because they had larger flowers and were more colorful, but her heart remained loyal to the heirloom varieties.

“Although hybrid orchids are more attractive, I think the original species must be conserved because their population would have dwindled rapidly without the efforts undertaken by this center,” she said.

Scientist Sofi Mursidawati said much more work must be done to preserve original species, since the Griya Anggrek collection represents only a tenth of the estimated 5,000 Indonesian orchid species.

“We hope it won’t be too late for us, with so much development happening and people rushing to topple trees and destroy orchid habitat,” she said.

“We’re also racing against time, with our limited budget for exploration, study and conservation.”

Currently the center has orchids from nearly every island in Indonesia. The entire collection is rare and valuable.

Orchid exploration is naturally strenuous because orchids do not live in clusters. They mostly grow in deep forests and must be handled carefully when removed from their habitat.

Sofi said orchids were listed in the CITES index of endangered and threatened species, and those at Griya Anggrek were not used for commercial purposes. Any rare Indonesian orchid species, such as Blue Orchid (Vanda Caerula) or Anggrek Kasut (Paphiopedillum), that is found outside the country must have been smuggled directly from the field.

Sofi said the forests of Papua, for example, had fallen prey to scavengers.

“People know that orchids from Papua are gems for collectors. They take the species and at the same time damage the habitat. It’s our loss,” she said.

Scientists, too, forage deep into the woods to find orchids. That may sound adventurous and fun, but the job does not end there.
Next, they must cultivate the orchids in a bid to preserve each species. Some plants need two years or more to be ready to reproduce.

A white Anggrek Bulan Raksasa (Phalaenopsis gigantea) gathered in East Kalimantan has remained in a seedling bottle for almost six years at one of the center’s greenhouses, showing no interest in blooming.

“It’s one of the stubborn species,” Sofi said.

Unfortunately, because the orchids are so valuable, the Griya Anggrek greenhouses are closed to the public. The showroom compensates by sharing some of Indonesia’s flowery treasures with visitors.

Their hard work is hidden away in greenhouses. That may be a little sad for the researchers, but it also makes their job a priceless privilege.

Hybrid beauties take pride of place

The Griya Anggrek’s collection of orchard hybrids has attracted more visitors compared to the original species of the flower, despite the latter’s rarity.

Orchid hybrids are more colorful and the variety of their shapes is much broader than traditional orchard species.

With hundreds of original species already collected, Indonesia could produce countless more orchard hybrid varieties. However, problems such as limited funding and insufficient human resources have prevented this from occurring.

To enrich its collection of orchid hybrids the Griya Anggrek showroom began purchasing seedlings from overseas.

Worldwide, Singapore now excels in the production of orchid hybrids. Singaporeans consider the flower to be a natural commodity. Indonesians consider this process unusual, however, as the archipelago has an estimated 5,000 heirloom varieties.

Sofi Murdiawati, a researcher with the Griya Anggrek, said only three orchard hybrid varieties were retailed at local markets — anggrek bulan, anggrek vanda and dendrobium.

Most Indonesian orchid traders import their hybrid seedlings from Taiwan, as mass production of the flowers’ seedlings is yet to occur here.

At the Griya Anggrek, orchid hybrids such as Dendrobium Charming, Dendrobium Tong Chay Gold, Dendrobium Ancheng Luback, Dendrobium Twist, Dendrobium Emma White and Dendrobium Dark Blue are on public exhibition.

The showroom also displays the Oncidium Wild Cat and Oncidium Golden Shower varieties from Bangkok and the Phalaenopsis variety from Taiwan.

(JP/Theresia Sufa)