Anggrek Hitam

Indonesia sangat kaya (2/15) で使った記事, "Katakan Cinta dengan Anggrek!" (SUARA PEMBARUAN DAILY，15/2/06) に anggrek hitam というランの話が出た．Di hutan Kalimantan Timur, anggrek hitam atau Coelogyne pandurata sudah mulai sukar ditemukan.

英語で Black Orchid という，この東カリマンタンの黒い蘭とはどんな花だろうと調べたら，画像のように，さすがに真っ黒な花というわけではなくて，舌に黒い点々がある，というランだった．このセロジネ・パンジュラータの画像は以下から．http://cosmos.cool.ne.jp/Orchid/sp/Coelogyne_pandurata.htm

Hari-hari Terakhir Anggrek Hitam...

MENYUSURI padang pasir Kersik Luway tidaklah lengkap sebelum melihat keindahan anggrek hitam (Coelogyne pandurata) yang dahulu dengan mudah ditemukan di tempat ini. Spesies anggrek langka ini hanya tumbuh di padang pasir Kersik Luway. Jika sedang musim berbunga, anggrek hitam itu mekar indah dan membentuk padang anggrek mahaluas di Kabupaten Kutai Barat, Kalimantan Timur.
Namun, kini semakin sulit menemukan anggrek hitam, bahkan saat musim berbunga sekalipun. Anggrek hitam kini mendekati kepunahan sejalan dengan kehancuran Cagar Alam Kersik Luway yang jumlah lahan anggreknya menyusut drastis dari 5.000 hektar menjadi hanya tinggal 500 hektar, dan dalam lima tahun terakhir menyusut lagi menjadi tinggal 50 hektar.
Padahal, semula kawasan itu memiliki kombinasi unik hutan kerangas, hutan tropis basah, dan hutan rawa bergambut. Kersik Luway juga merupakan kumpulan beberapa kersik (tanah berpasir), yakni Kersik Luway, Kersik Serai, Kersik Nyako, dan sebagian Kersik Mencege. Namun, kerusakan alam di wilayah ini terus terjadi susul-menyusul tanpa upaya rehabilitasi menyeluruh.

Praktis dalam kondisi ini anggrek hitam pun terancam punah total. Di lain pihak, upaya nyata untuk konservasi pun belum pernah digarap serius di kalangan penguasa Kalimantan Timur (Kaltim). Petinggi Kaltim hingga kini selalu sibuk dengan dua "mainan" utama, yakni pembabatan hutan dan pembukaan tambang.
SELAIN faktor lingkungan berupa kebakaran hutan, ancaman penjarahan yang dilakukan manusia pun turut memperburuk keadaan. Edi, seorang warga Samarinda, mengatakan, pada awal tahun 90-an terjadi perburuan anggrek hitam untuk dikomersialkan ke luar Kaltim. Akibatnya terjadi kehancuran lingkungan di Kersik Luway.
"Salah seorang keluarga saya yang sarjana pertanian pun sempat membawa beberapa batang anggrek hitam hidup dari Kersik Luway. Tetapi, ternyata tanaman itu tidak bisa tumbuh di luar ekosistem aslinya yang memiliki kelembaban tinggi," kata Edi. Meski demikian, penjarahan telanjur terjadi sehingga kerusakan lingkungan di Kersik Luway sulit diperbaiki.
Data Balai Konservasi dan Sumber Daya Alam (BKSDA) Kaltim membenarkan kondisi kritis Kersik Luway. Berdasar penelitian terakhir, tercatat ada 57 jenis anggrek dengan 47 di antaranya memiliki daerah sebaran di dalam kawasan cagar alam. Sisanya berada di luar, tetapi masih termasuk dalam daerah padang luway.
BKSDA juga mengakui, beragam fauna pun semakin sulit ditemui di Kersik Luway. Di masa lalu, rusa, babi hutan, biawak, pelanduk, monyet, dan beberapa jenis burung dengan mudah ditemui di daerah konservasi ini. Namun, kini keberadaan fauna ini sudah sangat jarang ditemui karena kerusakan habitat atau diburu untuk diambil dagingnya.
Penjarahan anggrek dan perburuan di sekitar kawasan tersebut membuktikan perubahan pandangan terhadap kesakralan Kersik Luway. Masyarakat sudah tidak takut lagi terhadap pantangan memasuki atau mengeksploitasi kawasan yang dikeramatkan selama berabad-abad itu.
Kepala Biro Hubungan Masyarakat Kabupaten Kutai Barat Toni Imang menyatakan, secara umum kebakaran hutan selalu menjadi faktor kehancuran alam kawasan tersebut. Namun, tidak dijelaskan mengenai perilaku manusia yang turut melakukan perusakan.
Sejalan dengan menurunnya kualitas lingkungan di Kersik Luway, gaung kelestarian dan promosi wisata tidak kunjung terdengar. Padahal, betapa pun kerusakan yang terjadi, kawasan ini masih menyimpan pesona bagi pecinta keasrian alami.
Paket wisata di Kaltim pun sedikit saja menawarkan perjalanan menyusuri Sungai Mahakam hingga ke Kota Melak. Wisatawan dengan semangat petualangan tampaknya tetap harus bersusah payah untuk menyaksikan keindahan anggrek hitam yang hanya tumbuh di Kersik Luway.
Selain suaka alam, kawasan sekitar Melak dapat dikembangkan menjadi cagar budaya. Kehidupan tradisional masyarakat Dayak, ikatan upacara adat dalam keseharian seperti di Bali, kesenian, kerajinan tangan, dan pesona eksotisme alam dan manusia Borneo takkan pernah habis dikagumi.
Mungkin hari-hari ini adalah saat terbaik untuk menyaksikan keindahan anggrek hitam di Kersik Luway.
Pesona yang tersisa seharusnya menjadi magnet untuk menarik kepedulian dan mengolah sektor wisata alam karena mungkin saat ini adalah hari-hari terakhir anggrek hitam di tempat asalnya. (ONG/Kompas)

The Story of Orchids

Around 120 million years ago, when the dinosaurs ruled the land, much of the world was covered by primordial forest, and plant life was rapidly becoming diverse, flowering plants were evolving and one of the first of these was the orchid.
As the world underwent many changes species of both plant and animal life died out or were replaced, but the orchid family expanded, populating every corner of the world except Antarctica, living on trees, rocks, in the ground or under it, tropical rainforest or lush grassland, high mountain or bog, they thrived, nothing seems capable of upsetting their evolutionary process , indeed it is generally accepted that in the world today, there are around 35,000 different species of orchid in existence; many myths abound concerning them, the most common of which is that they are parasitical plants, this is not so, orchids grow on trees - true, but they do not feed from them, they use the host merely as somewhere to be.
The above facts must make them one of the most successful and adaptable family of plants, (which probably explains their long family history) what they lack in internal resources, they will try to obtain elsewhere, some orchids which prefer a more acidic condition, will encourage ants to live on them, even in some instances creating suitable chambers for their guests to live in, and in addition to warding off their enemies, the ants increase the acidity on the plant through their own use of formic acid as a defence system. When it comes to reproduction orchids are extremely versatile, but individually selective and have adapted themselves to use a variety of pollinators, with or without their consent. Where many insects are concerned, the plant attracts them either by smell or mimicry, or in some instances even a little stealth.
It takes but little imagination to understand what the orchid on the right "ophrys insectifera" or as more commonly known the bee orchid is trying to mimic in order to attract a pollinator
The smell factor is obvious, but mimicry? well the flowers of many orchids are so designed to look like either an aggressor of the pollinator or it sexual partner, in the case of the Bee orchids for instance, male bees are attracted to the plants because the flower looks like a receptive female, and during a frustrating attempt at mating with the flower, the male bee will become the unwitting carrier of pollen, which it will duly deposit on its next amorous flight of fancy. Some orchids adopt the lure technique and have long stems the tips of which bear their flowers,these can dance effectively in the breeze and look amazingly like butterflies, (Oncidium Papillio).
Many orchid flowers provide an ideal landing platform for their pollinator to use, this is usually so designed that in getting to the nectar the insect has to come into contact with the pollinia of the orchid, and this will detach itself and stick like superglue to the back of the unwitting messenger, only to be brushed against the reproductive organs of its next port of call, in some instances, the orchid aids the certainty of securing the pollinia by having a hinge and tilt mechanism to its lip, this ensures that the insect is slapped hard against the pollinia as it leans forward into the flower.
Now we come to stealth, in this case the slipper orchid lures the insect with a promise of a drink from its pouch, or attracts it by scent or sight to the edge of the pouch which is very slippery and polished, before it knows it the hapless pollinator finds itself stuck at the bottom, and is either too wet to fly, or the shape of the pouch precludes it, and there is only one way out which the insect will eventually find, as it does escape it will have to crawl through a small doorway which is so tight that the pollinator os once again pressed firmly against the pollinia as it escapes, only to repeat the exercise once more at another flower, this time depositing the pollinia as it collects a fresh one, without even knowing. Some orchids rely on crawling insects to pollinate them, and will produce long petals which trail downwards until they touch the ground or another object, thus creating a pathway to their flowers.
Orchids really specialize in their choice of a pollinator, this ensures the continued purity of the species as the pollinator can only successfully gain sustenance from its chosen specie host, take for example the orchid Angreacum Sesquipidales, Darwin wrote about this one in his origin of the species, it produces beautiful waxy white star like flowers, which exude a heavy perfume at night, the back of the flower has a long spur, sometimes up to 12 inches or so in length, and at the bottom of this spur can be found a tiny source of nectar. Darwin reasoned that as the orchid was white, and only fragrant at night then the pollinator must be a moth, and that to be able to feed from the orchid the moth must have a tongue at least 18 inches long, unfortunately it was not until after Darwin’s death that the Predicta Moth was discovered, and the great man never had the pleasure of seeing his theory proven.
Of course, orchids do not rely on insects alone, humming birds, small mammals, even bats, and least of importance the wind, all contribute to their reproductive successes.
Orchids produce masses of tiny seeds, one single pod could contain as many as 4million seeds, it would seem obvious that with such a large harvest, the plants reproduction is assured, but remarkably orchids do have a major setback when compared to other forms of plantlife, because the seed is so small, it does not possess the natural reservoir of food with which most seeds are endowed, and does not possess the ability to convert food sources into the useful sugars etc. which it needs, therefore an amazing symbiotic relationship forms between the seedling and certain fungi, the seed must become infected early in its life cycle if it is to develop into a mature plant, and the miccorhizial filaments of the fungus become its lifeline to the outside world.
The earliest written evidence of their presence if in the form of Chinese and Japanese drawing and literature of the circa 700 B.C. At that time described and used as herbs and cures for many maladies. You may be interested to know that the seed pod of the orchid Vanilla planifolia is used to flavour ice cream.
World-wide some 33,000 species as known, in addition there are in the order of 200,000 plus hybrids registered, these records are kept at Kew here in the U.K.
In England orchid cultivation commenced some 250-300 years ago as church missionaries, army personnel and explorers sent plants to friends and patrons.
The nurseries of that era dispatched 'plant hunters' far and wide. Seafarers also returned with exotic plants to supplement their income, and it was only natural, (one of the major ports of the time being Liverpool) that the North of England became a focal point for orchid culture. A few northern names which may strike a chord with anyone familiar with orchid history are, Thomas Moss (Cattleya mossiae), a Liverpool Banker; Holbrook Gaskell (Cattleya gaskelliana) a Liverpool chemical manufacturer; Enoch Harvey (Dendrobium harveyanum) a Liverpool solicitor. The Rev John Clowes (Anguloa clowesii) resided in Manchester, and not too far away in Staffordshire lived James Bateman (Vanda batemanii). Whilst in Derbyshire one of the largest collections of orchids at that time was at Chatsworth, the seat of the Duke of Devonshire.
Only the then wealthy could afford the upkeep of 'stove houses' in which to bring back such plants to growing and flowering condition in addition to paying the high price orchids would command at auctions etc.
Today a mature plant in flower or near flowering can be purchased from one of the orchid nurseries who regularly attend our shows for the same cost of the average florist's bouquet, which usually fades after a few days, whereas, orchid flowers will last from three to twelve weeks - some even longer. Such plants may be kept within the average centrally heated home to grow on and continue to give pleasure with subsequent flowerings.
Known affectionately as 'The Royal Family of Plants' orchids grown in a sizeable collection will challenge the experienced horticulturist, the humble gardener and the house plant enthusiast as no other growing experience will, yet; there is no mystique since most orchids can now be cultivated successfully.
The Author of this site and his wife are both active members of the Society, and have a mixed collection of orchids growing happily in their greenhouse, and on the kitchen windowsill.
It is no longer necessary to have large greenhouses and even larger pockets to be successful at growing quality plants. Providing that the basic rules of plant culture are followed, anyone who has the desire can be rewarded by their efforts.
There are approx. 35 wild species in the British Isles - most of which do not survive being moved from their natural habitat, however nurseries specializing in "hardy orchids" can provide similar plants for outdoor growing.
Orchids were on this Planet long before man arrived, and despite our efforts to cut back forests, pollute the air and generally interfere with the ecology of the world as only we can it is probable that they will be there long after we have gone. If the theory of some that it is the insects which will inherit the earth, then it is likely that the insects will unwittingly help to prolong the orchids success as a survivor, perhaps it is the orchids who will really inherit the earth !. (taken from orchid.org.uk )

FOTO by Mering

Kisah Tiga Srikandi di Belantara Borneo

Puluhan anak panah melesat dengan cepat di atas lapangan pertandingan cabang panahan Olimpiade Seoul 1988. Begitu anak panah yang dilepaskan Lilies Handayani, Kusuma Wardhani, dan Nur . triana Lantang melesak ke bidang sasaran, sejarah baru pun tertoreh. Untuk kali pertama Indonesia meraih medali di ajang Olimpiade. Nun di Kalimantan Barat, juga ada trio srikandi berprestasi. Mereka bukan merentangkan busur dan anak panah, melainkan keluar-masuk hutan memburu anggrek spesies.
Beginilah pemandangan di halaman depan kediaman Ir Agustina Listiawati, MP, di salah satu sudut kota Pontianak, Kalimantan Barat. Pot-pot berwarna jingga, hijau, dan hitam, berderet rapi di atas rak-rak kayu dan besi. Shading net hitam membentang sepanjang atap greenhouse sederhana seluas 120 m2 dan 200 m2. Puluhan tempurung kelapa menempel di beberapa dinding greenhouse yang terbuat dari kawat. Potongan-potongan pakis menggantung rapi di sana-sini, berselingan dengan pot-pot plastik.
Di sanalah, Lies -sapaan akrab Agustina Listiawati -merawat ratusan 300 anggrek spesies asli Kalimantan Barat yang terkenal eksotis. Sebut saja misalnya Phalaenopsis bellina berdaun lebar dengan bunga mungil berwarna putih kehijauan bersaput merah keunguan. Atau Arachis breviscava yang berbunga kuning dengan totol-totol cokelat tua. Ada juga Paraphalaenopsis serpentilingua berbunga putih berlidah kuning yang tumbuh bergerombol. Saat anggrek-anggrek spesies itu berkembang, berbunga-bunga pulalah hati Lies.
Anggrek borneo
Pemandangan hampir serupa terlihat di kediaman Ir Chairani Siregar, MSc dan Ir Purwanti, MSi -juga di Pontianak. Di nurseri A &Z Orchids milik Chairani, terlihat Dyakia hendersoniana . Anggrek berbunga mungil berwarna merah cerah itu endemik Kalimantan. Di alam bebas, tanaman epifi t itu kini sangat jarang dijumpai. Koleksi lain, Macodes petola. Anggota famili Orchidaceae itu salah satu koleksi istimewa perempuan kelahiran Tapanuli, 8 Februari 1949 itu. Maklum jewel orchids -begitu sebutannya -salah satu anggrek yang berdaun paling indah.
Lain lagi koleksi Purwaningsih. Master dari Institut Pertanian Bogor itu, mengoleksi Tainia pausipolia -anggrek tanah berbunga merah tua seperti manggis yang tahan lama. Di habitatnya di tepian sungai di hutan-hutan dataran tinggi Sanggau, Sintang, dan Landak keindahannya bisa dinikmati sepanjang tahun. Jenis lain, Phalaenopsis cornucervi . Kerabat vanili asal Sambas, Singkawang, Bengkayang, Sanggau, dan Sekadau itu sering disebut anggrek ekor buaya atau anggrek bulan loreng karena motif bunga yang loreng-loreng.
Bukan hal aneh bila halaman rumah Lies, Chairani, dan Purwaningsih melulu berisi anggrek-anggrek spesies asal Kalimantan. Ketiga perempuan yang sama-sama berprofesi sebagai pengajar di Fakultas Pertanian Universitas Tanjungpura itu dikenal sebagai 3 serangkai pencinta anggrek borneo. Boleh dibilang merekalah kolektor anggrek spesies borneo -terutama dari Kalimantan Barat -terlengkap.
Keluar-masuk hutan untuk mendapatkan koleksi baru sudah jadi santapan rutin. Mulai dari hutan-hutan di Sambas, Singkawang, Landak, Sanggau -semua di Kalimantan Barat -sampai Serikin dan Biawak -wilayah Malaysia Timur yang berbatasan langsung dengan Kabupaten Bengkayang Sambas, serta Kuching, ibukota Serawak. Maklum sekitar 80%anggrek koleksi mereka memang hasil berburu langsung ke hutan-hutan. “Hampir semua hutan di seluruh Kalimantan Barat sudah kami jelajahi, kecuali yang berada di Kabupaen Ketapang dan Kapuashulu,” kenang Lies.
Terendam air
Kegiatan memburu anggrek di perbatasan Sambas dan Serawak menjadi pengalaman paling berkesan. Perjalanan itu dimulai dari Pontianak menuju Sambas - ibukota Kabupaten Sambas yang ditempuh dengan waktu 5 jam berkendaraan roda empat. Dari Sambas, rombongan bergerak ke arah Kecamatan Galing selama 3 jam bermobil. Sampai di sana, mereka mesti berganti kendaraan dengan ojek karena jalan yang ditempuh hanya bisa dilalui kendaraan roda dua. Selama 2 jam, perempuan-perempuan tangguh itu dibuat pontang-panting di jalan berbukit-bukit yang berpasir dan berdebu.
Namun, mereka pantang menyerah demi mendapatkan Paphiopedilum sandrianum -anggrek yang konon hanya ada di Sajingabesar di Gunung Kaliau. Sayang, begitu tiba di lokasi, sang buruan tak kunjung ditemukan. “Kami malah menemukan Arachis breviscava yang sedang berbunga. Itu pun cuma ada 2 tanaman setinggi 3 m, ” kata Lies.
Pengalaman tak kalah mendebarkan waktu memburu Paraphalaenopsis serpentilingua di Kabupaten Sekadau. Perjalanan mencari anggrek berjuluk lau tikus (ekor tikus, red) itu tak semudah yang dibayangkan. Dipandu warga setempat, mereka bermotor air menempuh perjalanan selama 2 jam menyusuri sungai. Itu dilanjutkan dengan berjalan kaki selama 2 jam di tanah banjir setinggi pinggang. Apadaya, setelah berjuang selama 4 jam, yang didapat hanya 2 tanaman setinggi 30 cm. Toh, medan berat selama perburuan tak menyurutkan langkah para srikandi itu mencari anggrek-anggrek spesies baru. “Habis jalan ke hutan menyenangkan. Semua beban pikiran sepertinya lepas, ” kata Lies. Pantas tiga serangkai itu tidak pernah kapok keluar-masuk hutan.
Dari pameran
Kebersamaan mereka sebetulnya tanpa sengaja. Mula-mula Lies, Chairani, dan Purwaningsih berjalan sendiri-sendiri mengoleksi tanaman epifi t itu. Sejak semasa kuliah Lies sudah gemar mengoleksi anggrek. Namun, waktu itu jenis-jenis hibrida yang banyak dimiliki. Chairani yang mengambil master di University of Kentucky, Lexington, Amerika Serikat, suka anggrek gara-gara terpikat pesona anggrek merpati Dendrobium crumenatum yang harum.
Belakangan setelah sama-sama aktif di PAI, mereka melirik anggrek spesies. “Keragamannya luar biasa. Mulai dari yang berukuran bunga kecil sampai besar. Bunganya ada yang tahan setengah hari sampai yang berbulan-bulan. Ada yang beraroma harum seperti Coelogyne asperata dan Phalaenopsis belina sampai yang berbau busuk seperti Bulbophyllum beccari, ” kata Lies, Chairani, dan Purwaningsih sepakat. Anggrek spesies yang pertama dimiliki Lies ialah anggrek tebu Grammatophyllum speciosum , anggrek pandan Cymbidium finlaysonianum , dan Dorrotis pulcherrima . Chairani punya Plocoglotis lowii . Sementara koleksi pertama Purwaningsih adalah Phalaenopsis bellina dan Tainia pauspolia.
Sebuah pameran di Museum Negeri Kalimantan Barat pada 2002 akhirnya mempertemukan mereka. Waktu itu, masing-masing diminta mengisi stan Fakultas Pertanian Universitas Tanjungpura yang masih kosong. Kebetulan Lies, Chairani, dan Purwaningsih dikenal oleh teman-teman sebagai pencinta tanaman. Jadilah mereka bertiga mengisi stan itu.
“Dari situ kami jadi sering ngobrol-ngobrol , ” kata Lies yang kini memiliki Khuby Orchids. Usut punya usut, ternyata ketiga aktivis organisasi Perhimpunan Anggrek Indonesia Provinsi Kalimantan Barat dan Kota Pontianak itu sama-sama gemar berburu anggrek spesies ke hutan. Daripada berburu sendiri-sendiri, akhirnya mereka pun sepakat bergabung. Eksplorasi bersama pertama ialah ke hutan-hutan di Kabupaten Sambas sepanjang 2003 -2004 yang dibiayai oleh pemda setempat. Dari perburuan perdana itu, lalu penjelajahan berlanjut ke hutan-hutan di 7 kabupaten lain.
Anggrek borneo lestari
Kini, kerja keras 3 srikandi itu terpampang jelas di nurseri masing-masing. Chairani mengoleksi sekitar 300 spesies. Macodes petola dan Arachis breviscava yang langka jadi koleksi kebanggaan. Sejumlah sama juga dikoleksi Lies. Ketua Litbang dan Konservasi PAI Kota Pontianak itu paling suka dengan Nevervilia discolor. Sementara dari 100 koleksi Purwaningsih, Tainia pausipolia dan Porpiroglottis maxwelie jadi kesayangan. T. pausipolia milik perempuan kelahiran Pontianak, 16 September 1958 itu menjadi juara umum dalam Borneo Orchids Show pada 2003.
Dari belantara borneo, anggrek-anggrek itu ditangkarkan. Hasil keluar-masuk hutan mereka dokumentasikan dalam sebuah terbitan tentang anggrek spesies Kalimantan Barat. Kepedulian untuk melestarikan anggrek-anggrek spesies borneo agar tak punah jadi perekat erat hubungan mereka. (http://www.nenganggrek.com)

Nepenthes ephippiata (Gunung Rajah, Borneo)

What a species! We are very proud to have introduced this phantastic species into cultivation several years ago after a fairly big expedition into Central Borneo. Certainly, N. ephippiata for the genus Nepenthes is like Heliamphora ionasi for Heliamphora - the ultimate development in shape and size!A "must" for a collection of highland Nepenthes.The only relative to the fascinating N. lowii. Bigger than N. lowii and fairly easy.(http://www.wistuba.com/)