Deep in the forests of northwestern Colombia, an orchid enthusiast has amassed a colorful collection of nearly 25,000 specimens, some of which he is cloning to save from extinction.
Colombia, which will host the UN’s COP16 biodiversity summit later this year, has the most orchid species in the world, with new species being discovered regularly.
All over the world, these special flowering plants are increasingly threatened by the deforestation of forests where most orchids are found.
Agricultural technologist Daniel Piedrahita, 62, has made it his life’s mission to preserve the flowers in his reserve called “The Soul of the Forest” in La Ceja, a town in the department of Antioquia.
“An orchid? I’ll describe it to you in one word: perfection,” Piedrahita told AFP.
He describes his collection of more than 5,000 species as a “genetic bank that I’m responsible for… making sure that each species reproduces perfectly.”
The reserve is home to about twenty globally endangered species, and Piedrahita dreams of returning them to their original habitats.
It is also a laboratory for the propagation of orchids unique to Colombia, such as the Anguloa Brevilabris or the Dracula Nosferatu.
– A ‘pure clone’ –
In nature, most orchids depend on a specific species of insect, bee or bird for pollination.
In the lab, Piedrahita pollinates them to get what he calls a “pure clone,” a seed capsule, the fruit of the orchid flower that can contain millions of seeds. It can take years to get an orchid to flower from the seeds.
He describes his mission to return the orchards to nature as his “moral, personal duty”.
The first orchard Piedrahita cloned two years ago was Guatemala’s national flower, the Lycaste Skinneri, also known as the “white nun.”
In Guatemala the orchid is extinct in the wild, but in southern Mexico there is hardly any sign of survival.
“The seeds are already developing in the lab, so we can reintroduce this species in a few years and not lose it again,” Piedrahita said.
His next goal is to clone Colombian orchid species that are threatened with extinction.
– ‘A back-up’ –
At “The Soul of the Forest” Piedrahita also teaches cultivation classes, has an educational YouTube channel and an online school, through which she finances the activities.
“This is my Zen center,” he said of the shrine where foreign and local tourists marvel at the wide variety of orchids.
His collection includes a flower that is particularly dear to Piedrahita: the Sobralia Piedrahita. The flower was named after him after he presented this previously unknown species at an orchid exhibition.
He remembers that more than seven years ago, in a place in Antioquia that he keeps secret, he first saw a small white flower on a rock in a river.
Piedrahita said he gave about seven people “a little piece” of his discovery. It’s “the guarantee that this plant will never go extinct.”
Every year new species appear in Colombia, nine so far this year.
Garrett Chung, an 18-year-old American tourist visiting with his family, said the reserve is important for wildlife conservation.
“Some species go extinct, so it’s good to have a reserve in case that happens.”
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