AN orchid research program at National Kandawgyi Garden in Pyin
Oo Lwin has resulted in the discovery of two orchid species from
genera that have never before been recorded in Myanmar.
Two orchid experts from the Myanmar Floriculturist Association,
Dr Saw Lwin and Dr Pan Khet Khet, are conducting research on the
garden’s grounds for one year starting from last November
under the sponsorship of Woodland Company, which administers the
gardens.
Dr Saw Lwin, a well-known orchidologist and a central executive
committee member of the association, told The Myanmar Times that
the research program focused on studying and recording orchids
in the garden’s nurseries and in the coniferous forests
growing naturally in the garden area.
“We have botanically analysed the orchids in the nursery
and defined their genera, species and habitats,” he said.
He said the new species, from the genera Zeuzine and Gastrodia,
were found during surveys of the garden’s coniferous forests
that started last month.
“These two are totally new genera for Myanmar,”
said Dr Saw Lwin. “We are conducting taxonomy surveys and
measuring plant density in 10-square-metre areas in the forests.
It’s such a botanically rich region that we’re finding
an average of 40 orchid plants in each area of this size.”
National Kandawgyi Garden covers 380 acres, about one-third
of which consists of natural coniferous forests that are prime
habitat for temperate-region orchids, he said.
In recent years, members of the Myanmar Floriculturist Association
have travelled to remote regions of Chin, Kachin and Shan states
and Mandalay Division in search of rare orchids.
“Thailand is smaller in land area and has less diversity
in geographical features, climate and plants than Myanmar. Even
so, they have recorded more than 1300 orchid species. We would
expect Myanmar to have more, up to about 1500 species,”
said U Saw Lwin.
But so far only 841 native orchid species have been recorded
in Myanmar out of about 17,500 species around the world, according
to the Ministry of Forestry.
