CSA-Journal-2016-04

Propagation of Oriental Cymbidiums
Text and Photos By Holger Perner
Abstract: Terrestrial Cymbidium species of the subgenus Jensoa develop mycorrhizomes
that do not develop shoots in vitro for a long time. Some remarks on the in vitro development,
sowing techniques and germination morphology are given.
In 2002 my wife Wenqing and I founded an
orchid laboratory in Chengdu, Sichuan
province, China, to develop mass-propagation
methods for native Chinese orchids,
namely temperate slipper orchids of the genus
Cypripedium. These are a main asset
of the Huanglong National Park, where we
work for the administration, and where under
our guidance a nursery was established
that raises the seedlings we produce in the
laboratory in Chengdu. Another focus
of the lab is on the propagation of native
tropical slipper orchids from seed, namely
the genus Paphiopedilum. The seedlings
produced in the lab are grown on in the
Chengdu-based nursery of Hengduan
Mountains Biotechnology, a company we
established with the lab. The goal is to market
the orchids raised from
seed on the domestic and international
markets. Though
a self-sustaining commercial
enterprise, Hengduan Biotech
contributes considerably
to the ex-situ conservation
of native Chinese
orchids because it provides
a legal source of truly artificially
produced orchids that
alleviates the considerable
pressure on the wild populations
of orchids in non-protected areas in
China, where these plants are still collected
in quantities and smuggled out of the country
to be distributed worldwide. The work
of Hengduan Biotech is approved by the
Chinese authorities. With the proper paperwork
(CITES export permits for appendix
I and II species, phytosanitary certificates,
and customs registrations) we have
exported flasks since 2009 and artificially
produced orchid plants from just deflasked
to flowering size since 2010. We focus not
only on slipper orchids but on a wide range
of native species, of which China has over
1300. This includes the Chinese or Oriental
Cymbidium species. In the following I
will share some observations I made during
our work with cymbidiums.
Fig. 1 Breeding lines of standard cymbidium hybrids in Japan.
photo by K. Karasawa
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