All things grow with the sun? Crystal Orchid: I don’t need light!

As the saying goes, "all things grow with the help of the sun", but the ghost orchid does the opposite. It does not need light and never carries out photosynthesis. It has now been included in the "China Biodiversity Red List - Higher Plants Volume" and is a national near-threatened rare plant.

The crystal orchid grows in cool and humid coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forests at an altitude of 800 to 3,200 meters. It has very strict requirements on the altitude, climate, soil and other growth environments. It can only be seen in deep mountain jungles with very good ecological environment. The crystal orchid sprouts in spring and blooms and bears fruit in summer. The whole life cycle is only a few short months.

File photo: Crystal orchid photographed in the forest of Gelanghe Township, Menghai County, Yunnan Province

The Crystal Orchid is a perennial herb with a low, fleshy plant, generally about 7 to 17 cm in height, and scaly alternate leaves. The corolla grows alone at the end of the stem, and is shaped like a drooping tubular bell. Studies have found that the crystal whiteness of the plant is because the Crystal Orchid grows on the surface of the forest. The tall trees completely block the sunlight, leaving the forest surface in the shadow of the trees for a long time. In such an environment, the plant cannot photosynthesize at all. Because it cannot photosynthesize, it is one of the plants that does not have any chlorophyll in the plant.

How can plants survive without chlorophyll and photosynthesis? Nature has endowed the Ghost Orchid with unique abilities. The growth environment of the Ghost Orchid is similar to that of mushrooms. Mushrooms are large fungi, while the Ghost Orchid is a seed plant that can bloom and bear fruit. However, their growth is closely related to fungi: the root system of the Ghost Orchid is very small and lacks root hairs that can absorb nutrients. It must combine with the hyphae of certain fungi (such as ascomycetes and basidiomycetes) to form a symbiosis called mycorrhiza. In the mycorrhiza, the hyphae of the fungi are responsible for absorbing water, inorganic salts and sugars to supply the Ghost Orchid, while the Ghost Orchid provides nutrients such as organic acids to the fungi. This skill makes the Ghost Orchid one of the plants that can feed itself by relying solely on "others".

The crystal orchid is also a folk medicine with a mild taste and can cure chronic cough caused by physical weakness. Studies have shown that the whole plant of the crystal orchid contains not only crystal orchid glycosides, β-sitosterol, p-coumaric acid, ursolic acid, glucose, sucrose, and raffinose, but also contains monoglucose and diglucose of kaempferol and quercetin, as well as active ingredients such as sterols and fatty acids. The whole plant can be used as medicine. Therefore, the crystal orchid not only has a unique ornamental effect, but also has certain medicinal value. It is a rare wild plant resource.

In recent years, as the ecological environment continues to improve, ghost orchids have been found in many places. In 2022, two ghost orchid growth communities were found in Changning County, Yunnan Province, with a total number of more than 1,000 plants. After preliminary investigation, the number of ghost orchids found in the Dongjia'ao forest area of ​​Guanyinshan Guoshe Cooperative Forest Farm in Changning County was relatively small, with only more than 10 plants; while in the Lidongshan area of ​​the Changning Lancangjiang County-level Nature Reserve, there were more than 1,000 ghost orchids found, covering an area of ​​more than 100 acres. In the same year, ghost orchids were also found in Kaiyuan and Tongxin Town, Yunnan.

The misty clouds, the soft jade skin and the clustered growth of crystal orchids reflect our country's effective protection of the ecological environment and wild animals and plants.

Review expert: Gao Zhiling, Professor of College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Hebei Agricultural University

China Association for Science and Technology Department of Science Popularization

Xinhuanet

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