Indonesia has very high biodiversity, and various animals and plants coexist in a breathtaking tropical nature. Even some of them are endemic animals and plants that can only be found in the natural area of Indonesia, one of which is the Papuan Black Orchid. The Orchidaceae family includes the species of epiphytic plant as the Black Orchid.
The West Papua Province BKSDA said that a search on Google stated that the Papua Black Orchid news was hoax news. The orchid has a white labellum with dense pink spots on the edges, black areas on the tips, and yellow keels with black markings in the center of the labellum. Scientific evidence does not support the accuracy of Google’s information.
International journals also examined the Papuan Black Orchid’s identity, but none of the journals or papers mentioned the orchid. Generally, the information obtained is the Black Orchid from Kalimantan, Coelogyne Pandurata Lindl.
Dendrobium Atroviolaceum Rolfe, an orchid species that is native to Papua and goes by the moniker The Black Blood-Red Dendrobium internationally, is likewise not black. So it is irrelevant if they called the Papuan Black Orchid.
Expert Opinion
According to two Dutch orchid researchers, Eduard de Vogel and André Schuiteman, the Black Orchid in Indonesia are only the Kalimantan Black Orchid Coelogyne Pandurata. The Black Papuan Orchid species on the internet is only a cruciferous orchid from the United States, a Cymbidium Kiwi Midnight’ Geyserland’.
The Cymbidium Kiwi Midnight ‘Geyserland’ orchid was popular from 2001 to 2015. Andy Easton crossed this type of orchid with Cymbidium Janet Holland x Cymbidium Khairpour as parents.
Although black, this orchid is not a native species of nature and does not come from Papua, so it is not worthy of being called the Papuan Black Orchid. Until now, there has been no orchid that is genuinely internationally renowned as the Papuan Black Orchid.
The Kalimantan Black Orchid
Orchid (Coelogyne Pandurata) is a species of orchid that grows in the Malay Peninsula, Kalimantan, and parts of Sumatra. Named the Black Orchid because it has a black tongue (labellum) with a few green and hairy stripes.
The flower’s sepals and petals are light green with a fragrant aroma. The Kalimantan Black Orchid belongs to the sympodial group with a bulbous shape that swells at the bottom with only two leaves.
The Papuan Black Orchid
International journals also examined the Papua Black Orchid‘s identity, but none of the journals or papers mentioned the orchid. Generally, the information obtained is the Black Orchid from Kalimantan, Coelogyne Pandurata Lindl.
Dendrobium Atroviolaceum Rolfe, popularly known as the Black Blood-Red Dendrobium, is an additional native Papuan orchid. Moreover, orchid enthusiasts and researchers provided information about the orchid, which is not black.
No one has ever seen the black orchid in question. Samples of the vegetative and generative organs of orchids need to do an examination in order to establish a strong identify, rather than just from photographs.
Correcting Misinformation Regarding the Papuan Black Orchid
In October 2018, I had the opportunity to attend the International Conference on Biodiversity, Ecotourism, and Creative Economy – ICBE 2018, which the Government of West Papua Province organized. The event was attended by two orchid researchers/experts, Eduard de Vogel and André Schuiteman. They describe hundreds of orchid species originating from the New Guinea region.
The two are the experts on Papua’s current diversity of orchid species. Not without a process, they have focused on researching orchid species in Southeast Asia for more than 40 years.
In one of the workshop sessions on orchids, we asked about the true identity of the “Black Papuan Orchid.” The bright spot in the search for the identity of the Papuan Black Orchid came after asking the two orchid experts from the Netherlands.
Ed de Vogel and André, who have been researching Papuan orchids for a long time, don’t even know about the Papuan Black Orchid. What they know is the Kalimantan Black Orchid.
After questioning the orchid in the picture, they only said it was a cruciferous orchid and not native to Papua. Jimmy Frans Wanma confirms this statement as a Lecturer at the State University of Papua who is also study the Orchidaceae family.
With the help of other friends, we could identify the Papua Black Orchid in question. The orchid is Cymbidium Kiwi Midnight’ Geyserland’.
