Popular indoor plants and coveted smuggled goods - why orchids are so fascinating
Created: 12/10/2022, 5:00 p.m
By: Inga Schoenfeldt
Aphrodisiac, contraband and collector's item: In an interview, author Noemi Harnickell explains why people are so fascinated by the plant.
Anyone who pays conscious attention to them will discover them everywhere: orchids.
They stand on the window sills of apartments, in shop windows and are available in almost every supermarket.
Most of the time it is the same variety: the Phalaenopsis.
The houseplant is painstakingly raised in large nurseries in Europe for several years and is then available for sale in stores for a few euros.
Orchids on the windowsill usually have a long life behind them.
© fotototo/Imago
But the orchid is far more diverse than you might think.
There are an estimated 30,000 species worldwide, says Swiss writer and journalist Noemi Harnickell in a video interview with IPPEN.MEDIA.
For her book "Disturbingly Beguiling - Im Ban der Orchidee" she has dealt intensively with the myths, the illegal trade and the cultivation of the plant.
Many species of orchids grow in the tropical jungle
Most species differ significantly in shape and color from the uniform supermarket product.
The flower of the native bumblebee orchid resembles a bumblebee perched on a leaf.
The shape of the orchid is reminiscent of hyacinths and the flower of the Dracula simia looks like the face of a monkey.
With the Dracula orchid "monkey face" (Dracula simia), the name says it all.
© Kyodo News/Imago
Asian species, on the other hand, often grow on trees in tropical climates.
Their aerial roots entwine themselves around the branches.
Orchids are demanding plants and need exactly the right climatic conditions, otherwise they will die.
"A lot of collectors describe that adrenaline rush when the plant flowers for the first time after growing it," says Harnickell.
Plants have fascinated people for thousands of years.
In Greek and Roman antiquity, they even believed that orchids had an aphrodisiac effect.
The reason for this was the testicle-like shape of the tuber.
Many associate the delicate flowers with femininity, the author explains in her book.
The orchid we buy in the supermarket is at least ten years old.
Noemi Harnickell
Poachers hunt orchids
The natural growth of an orchid: perched on a tree.
© Emily Wabitsch/dpa-tmn
In the 19th century a veritable orchid fever arose.
European collectors and poachers headed to Asia and South America to remove the exotic plants from their native environment and sell them to greenhouses in Europe.
Because an orchid from a distant country was a coveted status symbol, the readers learn.
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The poachers acted unscrupulously, reports Harnickell.
With the help of locals, trees were felled or entire primeval forests cleared.
However, the hard work was often in vain, as only a fraction of the plants survived the long voyage to Europe, which made them all the more valuable.
All orchid species are now protected, and import and export are strictly regulated - which in turn still makes them illegal goods, according to Harnickell.