Orchid Show at Suria Sabah

I found out the name of this orchid…finally!

Dendrobium anosmum, a common epiphyte which produces mauve and purplish flowers with a faint scent. This orchid produces plantlets which can be separated from the mother plant and are very easy to grow.

I was at the Borneo Orchid Show 2010 yesterday. For RM2.00 each, Meg and I could spend the entire day looking at and admiring the countless orchids displayed on two floors (the size of several shop lots) at Suria Sabah. After getting lost-- we had to ride up and down the elevator a few times, walk through no-man's land and follow a zigzag route-- we found the venue.

There were orchids galore and enough variety to make orchid enthusiasts sing! We saw beautiful Aerides, rare Bulbophyllum, Cymbidium and an array of Dendrobium and Eria. There was even a Paphiopedilum named “Sumazau” because of the position of the ‘arms’ held at an angle to the bloom like a dancing figure. Maybe it was a Paphiopedilum rothschildianum? I didn’t note down the names. Too many tongue-twisters.

There was a hybrid of Renanthera bella arranged on a bare tree trunk so it turned into a flaming bush, and all kinds of Phalaenopsis, both hybrids and species.

Besides learning the name of the orchid I’d been growing for several years, I learned a lot of interesting stuff about orchids.

When two wild orchid species are crossed and the seeds grown, we get a primary orchid hybrid. This hybrid can be crossed with other species, or back-crossed, to produce whole series of new hybrids with good flower colour, texture and shape.

In Sabah, there are orchid species conservation gardens at Sandakan, Tenom and Ranau. The Sabah Agricultural Park at Lakud Sebrang in Tenom has two orchid gardens, one for wild Borneo species and the other for hybrid orchids. Ahh, an orchid heaven to visit!