Eco Hvar

Orchids need care

Highlighting Croatia's wild orchids and the need to treat them with love and respect, the highly active and successful BIOM ASSOCIATION published an article in the spring of 2024 with a plea to pay attention to these fascinating and invaluable plants.

Orchis italica Orchis italica Frank Verhart

We are very grateful to the Biom Association for their permission to use the article and pictures here.

THE ORCHID, QUEEN OF PLANTS

Orchids make up one of the largest and most interesting plant families, the Orchidaceae. Although there are about twenty to thirty thousand species in close to one thousand genera according to current records, new species and hybrids are discovered almost on a daily basis, adding to the rich palette of these exquisite flowers.

A typical natural habitat for orchids. Photo: Udruga Biom, from the Newsletter

Orchids are true world travellers! They spread almost throughout the whole world, apart from the extreme polar and desert areas. The largest concentration is in the Himalayan regions of Nepal and they can also be found in the tropical areas of Asia, South and Central America and even as far as the Arctic Circle in Patagonia.

However, most often when people talk generally about orchids they are thinking of the cultivated types and varieties which we buy in flower shops. Many people are not aware that orchids are not just a few species from far-off rain forests: almost 200 varieties and sub-varieties of wild orchids grow in Croatia! As a result, Croatia is ranked at the top of European countries for the wealth of its orchids, boasting 19 endemic varieties. Orchids grow in widely differing habitats, from damp meadows in low-lying areas to woodlands and scrublands. Mostly they are to be found on dry grasslands. They are all strictly protected and it is forbidden to pick, collect, destroy or uproot them. They are under threat from neglected, untended grasslands which turn into scrublands, habitat destruction and picking.

Orchis morio, Green-winged orchid, an endangered species. Photo: Udruga Biom, from their newsletter

To focus a little more on Croatia's own orchids and their collaboration with other species: not all orchids are as good as they might appear at first! Some orchids live solely off other plants and fungi, having no leaves and doing without photosynthesis: they thrive as parasites, stealing nutrition and water from other plants, so that all that is left for them to do is to create seeds in order to ensure they have future descendants. Croatia's parasitic orchids mainly belong in three genera, Neottia, Serapias and Limodorum.

From the botanists' point of view, orchids are one of the most widespread of the evolutionary younger groups of plants and they give rise to many interesting stories. Orchids are mainly pollinated by insects and they have perfected their ability to attract insects through their scents, shapes and colours. They have achieved an unbelievably high level of collaboration with insects: orchids try, in the main successfully, to ensure that insects carry the pollen from flower to flower practically without losing a single pollen grain. Sweet nectar is the reward which the insects receive in return. Chemical substances produced by orchids mimicking insect pheromes can be so like the real thing that insects are fooled into thinking they have found another insect to mate with, which is a powerful motivator for performing the service of pollinating the flowers.

Orchis simia,the Monkey Orchid, threatened species, but still fairly common in Mediterranean Croatia, Photo: Udruga Biom, from their newsletter.

Many orchids in Croatia belong to the genus Ophrys, within which there are also endemic species. Thanks to their efficient pollen transfer combined with 'well prepared ground' in the form of the large number of seed embryos contained in the orchid pistils, orchids as a result produce exceptionally large numbers of seeds. Here orchids rely on quantity more than quality, so the seeds are extremely tiny. They almost always germinate in connexion with establishing mycorrhiza, that is in conjunction with fungi which give the seedlings sufficient energy for development. This is necessary because the seeds from the parent plants are sent into the world with minimal nutrients. To get a clearer picture of just how tiny orchid seeds are, think of the type of vanilla sugar which comes as a black 'pod': this is actually a pouch containing thousands of minuscule black seeds that we use as a spice - and the natural aroma of vanilla is derived from the tropical orchid species Vanilla planifolia.

Vanilla planifolia, Flat-leaved Vanilla. Photo: © Ana Maria Benivades, reproduced with permission

Nature-lovers in ever-increasing numbers are seeking out wild orchids in grasslands, woods and thickets, looking to enjoy the beauty of these colourful and interesting plants. They find specially interesting flowers among species from the genera Orchis, Ophrys, Dactylorhiza, Himantoglossum and Cypripedium calceolus.

DID YOU KNOW?

* A hot, sweet drink called salep (sahlep, sahlab), which is very popular in the Near East, is made from the dried, ground tubers of the orchid genus Orchis.

* The orchid is considered to be the queen of flowers, a title accorded by the Chinese philosopher Confucius. In Ancient China orchids were being used for medicinal purposes as long ago as 700 years before Christ.

* The name orchid is derived from the Greek ὄρχις, meaning testicle, because of the two tubers from which the upright plant emerges.

A PLEA: TAKE CARE OF CROATIA'S WILD ORCHIDS

Spring is the time when most of our country's wild orchids flower, with the peak during April and May. When you go out into nature, please photograph and take note of the ones you see. If you have a garden, orchard or field, we have an extra request: wait at least until the end of May before strimming in order to allow orchids and other wild flowers to set seed and so guarantee their next generation. This will also ensure the food source for the pollinating insects which have been collaborating with plants for hundreds of thousands of years, thus providing us humans with plentiful harvests of various fruits and vegetables - without these insects the harvests would be reduced to almost nothing!

© BIOM, translated by Viviasn Grisogono MA (Oxon)

Relevant articles of interest:

Ljiljana Borovečki-Vosak, Berislav Horvatic. 2020.  Orhidejski hibridi (Orchidaceae) na otoku Krku. Orchid hybrids (Orchidceae) on the Island of Krk. Glasnik hrvatskog botaničkog društva. (Article in Croatian)

Frank Verhart: Orchid observations in Croatia in 2017 and 2018: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tqx1iIJUFLN8H7LJlFTkvlD6YhdzfsmJ/edit

Frank Verhart: 2017. Orchids on Pelješac. Eco Hvar website.

Frank Verhart. Orchid observations in Croatia in 2019. http://www.franknature.nl/Verhart%20orchid%20observations%20in%20Croatia%20in%202019.pdf

Grace Brewer. February 2024. Sneaky orchids and their pollination tricks. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Blog article.

Related items

back to top
You are here: Home Nature Watch Orchids need care

Eco Environment News feeds

  • UK opening new oil and gas fields would imperil global climate goals, experts say

    Senior climate figures warn North Sea drilling would encourage fossil fuel exploitation by developing countries

    Opening new oil and gas fields in the North Sea would “send a shock wave around the world”, imperilling international climate targets, undermining the UK’s climate leadership and encouraging developing countries to exploit their own fossil fuel reserves, experts have warned.

    The UK government is under stiff pressure from the oil industry, the Conservatives, Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, some trade unions and parts of the Treasury to give the green light to new oil and gas fields, despite clear evidence that doing so would not cut prices and would have almost no effect on imports.

    Continue reading...

  • ‘Should it all just be renationalised?’ – your water crisis questions answered

    Sandra Laville has been reporting on England’s sewage crisis for years. She answered your questions on the water privatisation scandal.

    Guardian environment correspondent Sandra Laville’s reporting on the sewage crisis in English water has helped to expose a scandal of privatisation that has created a swell of fury across the political divide.

    Sandra has now finished answering your questions. Read the Q&A below.

    The government has put the cost of renationalising water at £100bn. But this is a disputed figure. Academics working with the People’s Commission on the Water Sector say this figure is ‘serious scaremongering created on biased evidence’ which was paid for by water companies. It is based on the Regulatory Capital Value of companies as determined by Ofwat, not the” true and fair value in law”, which reflects losses from market failures, like the cost of pollution or the monopoly profits taken by shareholders and banks.

    The route to renationalisation could come via the system set up legally when the companies were privatised. Under the law companies can be put into special administration if they are unable to pay debts, if they breach licence obligations, such as on sewage pollution, or failing to supply water, and if it is considered in the public interest to do so. Special administration is a form of temporary renationalisation.

    This is the million dollar question! While tackling separation across the whole network at once is considered too disruptive and costly, particularly in urban environments, the chartered institute of water and environmental management says moving towards separated systems is their key focus to address urban pollution and storm water sewage releases. New developments, for example, are now mandated to have separate pipes for foul wastewater and surface water run off.

    They also want to see the increased use of sustainable drainage systems like water butts, and storage basins for existing properties, to reduce the amount of runoff into the system. Keeping gardens rather than paving them over, and creating so called sponge cities is also key to tackling pollution.

    The UK was described as the dirty man of Europe back in the 70s and 80s, due to levels of pollution. For example in coastal towns there were no water treatment plants to treat sewage, raw sewage was just pumped and dumped into the sea. It was only when the EU directives came in that the clean up began. Chief amongst these was the Urban Wastewater directive, the Water Framework directive, and the Bathing Water directive.

    Since leaving the EU there have been fears that these pieces of legislation could be watered down. James Bevan, as CEO of the Environment Agency, talked about changing the Water Framework Directive, essentially to make it easier for rivers to pass tests for chemical and biological health. Currently no river is rated as in good overall health under the WFD where rivers have to pass both chemical and biological health tests.

    Continue reading...

  • Say no to pesticides, mix up your lawn – and six more ways to help bees to thrive

    Like so many flying insects, these essential pollinators are suffering because of habitat loss and the overuse of chemicals. Here’s how to give them a healthier, happier home

    We know about honeybees and bumblebees, but most of the UK’s bees are neither: they’re solitary bees, loners who come in a dizzying range of sizes, colours and varieties – more than 240 species. Have you heard, for instance, of the hairy-footed flower bee? “They’re one of the first bees to emerge each year,” says Laura Larkin, the chief conservation officer at Buglife. “The males have got fantastic little fluffy bits on their feet.”

    How about leaf-cutter bees, which chomp “a perfectly circular hole” out of leaves to build their nests? Or bright-orange tawny mining bees, wool-carder bees, ivy bees? “There are so many of them and I’m still learning,” says Kate Bradbury, a wildlife gardener, writer, bee lover and the author of One Garden Against the World. “They’re just great – there’s a solitary bee for every occasion.”

    Continue reading...

  • ‘The water is no longer our friend’: how dredging is pushing Lagos Lagoon towards ecosystem collapse – photo essay

    Taking sand from the Nigerian city’s lagoon to supply a building boom harms more than fish – it affects the entire food chain, erodes coastlines and is depriving fishing communities of their livelihoods

    Before dawn, when the noise of Lagos’s danfobusesfills the air and generators rumble to life, the city’s lagoon is already stirring. Not from fish splashing or canoes gliding, but from the long suction pipes of the dredging machines, pulling up the lagoon bed and spitting out wet sand that will be used in the construction of high-rise blocks, housing estates and flyovers.

    Sand dredging is regulated by the Lagos state government and the waterways authority but in a city of more than 20 million people, where sharp sand has never been in higher demand, not all dredging is being done by the book.

    Dredging leaves its mark on the landscape along the shores of the Lagos Lagoon in Epe

    Continue reading...

  • Oil slick from bombed Iranian ship threatens protected wetland

    Shahid Bagheri leaking fuel towards Hara mangrove forest, home to migrating birds and endangered turtles

    An oil slick from a stricken Iranian ship threatens to contaminate one of the Middle East’s most important wetlands, satellite image analysis suggests, making it one of a number of spills posing a risk to the livelihoods of coastal communities in the Gulf.

    The Shahid Bagheri, a drone carrier, began leaking heavy fuel oil in Iranian territorial waters near the strait of Hormuz after it was hit by a US warplane in the first few days of the US-Israel attack on Iran.

    Continue reading...

  • Birdwatch: Climbing to 4,400 metres to spot a rare rufous-bellied seedsnipe

    Our writer travels to the eastern Andes in search of one of Ecuador’s most elusive birds

    I’m out of breath – and not just because I’m desperate to see one of Ecuador’s most elusive birds, the rufous-bellied seedsnipe. To have any chance of success, I’ve come to Cayambe Coca national park in the eastern Andes. At 4,400 metres (14,400 feet), this is the highest altitude I have ever experienced.

    Fortunately the skies are clear, the sun is shining, and my guide, Juan Carlos, is optimistic. I don’t tell him I have a track record of missing nailed-on certainties.

    Continue reading...

  • Country diary: Watching the cows, chewing on memories of protest and parenting | Nicola Chester

    Woolton Hill, Hampshire: I visit an old friend in an old haunt, where a small herd of Shetlands has been set to work

    Thirty years on from the impassioned action of the road protests, the Newbury bypass soars above us on the old railway embankment. I can’t entirely accept it even now, having been part of the campaign. Today, walking in The Chase, the nature reserve that lies adjacent, the roar of traffic slips into a background hum, aided by other memories I’ve built up here.

    Many of those have been with my dearest friend, Sarah. She volunteers as a “cow watcher” for the National Trust, and I’ve come with her as she checks their whereabouts and wellbeing. They are conservation grazers; keeping coarser scrub in check, spreading seed and poaching areas, and encouraging greater biodiversity and plantlife.

    Continue reading...

  • Cars make way for bikes as Sydney commuters saddle up to circumvent ‘crazy’ fuel costs

    The shock of the oil crisis is playing out on Australian streets, where bike sales are up and cycle lanes are busier

    Before the 1970s global oil crisis, city planners in Copenhagen were considering removing bike lanes. Bicycles were considered outdated now car was king, and just 10% of locals were cycling regularly.

    But as economic shock waves reverberated around the world, Denmark, which almost entirely relied on imported oil, took a dramatic U-turn, with citizens staging mass protests in the middle of highways demanding better cycling infrastructure.

    Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads

    Continue reading...

  • ‘All we can do now is pray they continue’: Maasai welcome the first rains but know that drought is far from over

    Harsh weather is nothing new in Kenya but the country’s climate is showing clear signs of getting hotter and drier

    The day is hot and dry but the soil underfoot is soft. “After four months of drought, we received the first rains yesterday,” says Maasai elder Abraham Kampalei. “All we can do now is pray that they continue.”

    Kampalei has lived for more than 50 of his 70 years with his family and animals in Oldonyonyokie, a hamlet in southern Kenya’s Kajiado county. He has witnessed the slow decline of the pastures. “I came here because of the abundance of grass for my livestock to graze. Today, there is almost nothing left of it,” he says.

    Continue reading...

  • ‘I escaped death a lot of times’: one man’s lifelong work protecting gorillas and communities in Congo

    As a child, Dominique Bikaba, was displaced by a new national park in the DRC. Now he is helping to secure land for wildlife and Indigenous groups against the backdrop of ongoing fighting

    Mist hangs low over the forested slopes of Kahuzi-Biega national park, where the canopy still shelters one of the last strongholds of the eastern lowland, or Grauer’s, gorilla. It is a landscape of immense biological wealth and equally immense political fragility. For 54-year-old Dominique Bikaba, it was once home.

    His family was among those displaced when their ancestral land was incorporated into the park in the 1970s. The protected area, in the lowlands of South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), harbours elephants and a remarkable range of wildlife, but it is best known as the principal home of the Grauer’s gorilla, the largest subspecies of primates, known to grow up to 250kg (39st) in weight. It is one of five great ape species found in the DRC’s vast forests, including mountain gorillas, which are also found in other parts of the Great Lakes region, such as Rwanda and Uganda.

    Continue reading...

Eco Health News feeds

Eco Nature News feeds

Copyright © 2026 Eco Hvar. All Rights Reserved. Developed by Orion Informatika.