JABAR EKSPRES – The orchid-loving community in South Kalimantan expects orchid lovers in the local area to protect the habitat of the Pelaihari Moon Orchid (Phalaenopsis amabilis) in Tanah Laut Regency, because it is now threatened with extinction.
Chairman II of the Indonesian Orchid Society (PAI) of South Kalimantan, Marzuki in Banjarmasin, Monday (6/5), asked orchid lovers not to hunt the orchid into the forest or the habitat of the plant because it can accelerate its extinction.
“In the past, the orchid was quite common among orchid lovers in Banjarmasin and other areas including Pelaihari, Tanah Laut Regency,” he said.
However, now that the orchid is increasingly rare, she estimates that the species cannot grow well if it is outside the habitat.
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“For us orchid lovers, we should not hunt in the forest looking for these orchids, unless they are cultivated,” he said again.
Because according to him, if you have to go to the forest and then keep it outside the habitat and it dies, then it is not the same as orchid lovers, but can be called orchid destroyers.
The local Moon Orchid from Pelaihari is known to have advantages such as a fairly long flowering period of three to six months, while ordinary orchids are no more than one month.
In addition, Pelaihari Moon Orchid has a number of florets in one stalk that can reach between 25-50 florets, while ordinary orchids are only about 10-15 florets, and many branches in the stalk while other orchids only have one branch.
Even the Pelaihari Moon Orchid is also one type of orchid that has pure white flowers and has high economic value.
In the Pelaihari area of Tanah Laut Regency, there are 1,000 types of orchids out of 4,000 types of Kalimantan orchids. Of the 1,000 orchids in South Kalimantan, seven of them are rare orchids that are protected by law, so they cannot be traded.
