_GcThe Million Orchid Project
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
Overview
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is propagating a million native orchid plants for restoration into South
Florida's urban landscapes. The new Micropropagation Laboratory at Fairchild is generating large quantities
of native orchid plants from seed, with the assistance of students and volunteers from the local community.
We are propagating several species of of native orchids, including the Florida butterfly orchid (Encyclia
tampensis), cigar orchid (Cyrtopodium punctatum)" Prosthechea boothiana, and Prosthechea cochleata. Our
goal is to reestablish native orchids within the public spaces of South Florida, including school landscapes,
street tree plantings, and city parks. As the project progresses, our students, volunteers, and scientists are
conducting experiments on the ecology and genetic diversity of native orchids. They are teaching the local
community about orchid biology, micropropagation, and the importance of species restoration. This project
is unique in its scale, its exclusive focus on public landscapes, and its involvement of the local community
from the beginning.
Introduction
South Florida was once an orchid paradise, with a rich flora of tropical orchids growing naturally on the
branches of every tree. Early settlers marveled at the intense beauty and fragrance of orchids during the
springtime flowering season. In the late 1800s, as the Florida East Coast Railroad extended southward,
orchids were among the first natural resources to be exploited. Flowering orchids were ripped from the trees
and packed into railroad cars, destined to be sold as disposable potted plants in northern flower shops.
Orchid populations dwindled rapidly, and now our iconic native orchids exist in such small numbers that
they have no hope of recovering on their own.
Today, our region has countless suitable landscape trees for orchid reestablishment, in schoolyards,
roadways, and other public spaces. Within five years we expect to have orchids in a wide variety of local
urban settings, especially in the places where people live, work, and learn.
Some orchid species persist at very low levels in the region, including two that still occur naturally at
Fairchild. These are the Florida butterfly orchid (Encyclia tampensis) and cowhorn orchid (Cyrtopodium
punctatum). Both species flower regularly in the garden. Each bloom may yield more than a million seeds,
but the odds are that none of the tiny, dustlike seeds will ever grow into a new plant. Orchid seeds are
dispersed by the wind, and their success depends on landing in just the right location with the right growing
conditions. To grow successfully, they need to land on a patch of tree bark with the proper species of
symbiotic, microscopic fungus, an exceedingly rare event.
Florida has over 100 native orchid species, far more than any other state in the country. For years, several
organizations have been researching and optimizing techniques for propagating Florida's orchids.
Micropropagation laboratory techniques have been optimized to create suitable growing conditions in glass
bottles, allowing each seed capsule to yield thousands of seedlings. A handful of Florida orchid species are
now being propagated using these techniques for restoration into federal and state-managed natural areas.
Our work will complement the existing orchid restoration projects aimed at natural areas, but will focus on
South Florida's urban environments. Our region has countless suitable landscape trees for orchid
reestablishment, in schoolyards, roadways, and other public spaces. We are using established techniques to
generate more than a million orchid seedlings, and we are working with community partners to plant them
throughout South Florida. Within five years we expect to have flowering orchids in a wide variety of local
urban settings, especially in the places where people live, work, and learn.
A successful model of urban orchid restoration already exists at the Singapore Botanic Garden (SBG). Over
the past several years, scientists at SBG have propagated and replanted native orchids in some of that city's
most densely populated urban areas. Some orchid species have been restored to levels that allow them to
reproduce naturally, even on street trees in the most urban areas of Singapore.
Methods
Fairchild is using standard micropropagation techniques to grow seedlings from native orchid species. Seeds
are extracted from seed capsules under sterile techniques, planted in growth medium within glass bottles,
and successively transplanted until the seedlings are large enough to grow outdoors. We will work with
community partners to find suitable locations, plant the seedlings, and follow their progress. Partners include
schools, local municipalities, plant societies, and the Tropical Arborist Guild.
The four target species include the Florida butterfly orchid (Encyc!ia tampensis), and the cowhorn orchid
(Cyrtopodium punctatum), which still persist in a few locations at Fairchild. The other target species are
Prosthechea boothiana (dollar orchid) and Prosthechea cochleata (cockleshell orchid), which are found in
some natural areas of Miami-Dade. For each species, the reestablishment process will occur over a five year
timetable:
Year 7 -Orchid seed capsules are harvested when ripe, usually in the autumn, winter, or early spring. Seeds
are planted in sterile medium in the laboratory and monitored for germination. At months 3 and 6, the
orchid seedlings are transplanted into new containers as they develop leaves and roots.
Year 2-After 9 to 12 months of growth, seedlings are transplanted into new, sterile containers a third and
final time. At this stage they are transported to classrooms in Fairchild Challenge schools, where they are
monitored by middle and high school students. When they are 12 to 18 months old, the seedlings are
transplanted into standard nursery conditions by the Fairchild Challenge students, either at the school or at
Fairchild.
Year 3-At 18-24 months of age the orchid seedlings are ready to be attached to tree branches. This is done
in the springtime to allow proper root development during the South Florida rainy season. For the first year
outdoors, watering and fertilizing may be necessary in some locations.
Year 4-5-Graduate students conduct experiments on the growth of reestablished orchids in a variety of
urban settings. Associations with other elements of the ecosystem, including pollinators, will be studied.
Orchids will begin flowering and producing seeds when they are four or five years old.
Each batch of seeds will yield approximately 25,000 individual plants, which can be planted in
approximately 1,000 trees (Table 1). We will propagate eight batches of seeds per year, two per species.
Graduate students and volunteers are conducting a population genetic study for each species to determine
current levels of diversity in the wild and to design a replanting strategy that will preserve local genotypes.
The students will work with members of the Tropical Arborist Guild to sample DNA from orchids growing in
local trees. Working with Fairchild staff and volunteers, they will develop and evaluate microsatellite DNA
markers for each species.
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