Tuesday February 20, 2007
Common but precious: Dr Jaap Vermeulen with wild orchids found at many roadsides in Cameron Highlands.IN 2002, Dr Jaap Vermeulen purchased an orchid plant from a nursery in Cameron Highlands because he knew it could well be a species new to science. He later described the plant and named it Bulbophyllum ochthodes.
In a recent collection trip with researchers from the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (Frim), the orchidologist could hardly believe his luck when he came across the same species perched on a mossy branch in the montane jungle.
“That was the first time I saw it in the wild,” says the expert in the orchid genus Bulbophyllum. He has described more than a third of the 3,000-odd Bulbophyllum in the world.
“If we find a single plant and are not sure if it’s rare, we take a little for description purposes and leave enough for it to grow in the wild. We’re rather careful with that,” he explains.
The lanky Dutch is one of many plant scientists engaged under the Flora of Peninsular Malaysia project to share his expertise and guide the pool of young botanists. He has also conducted an illustration workshop for Frim staff. Illustration of plants is an important component in documenting them for scientific publications.
Vermeulen is the orchid curator with the National Herbarium of Netherlands in Leiden that has a wide collection of plant specimens from this region and a long-running collaborative arrangement with Frim.
As if to further sweeten his memory of Cameron Highlands, Vermeulen left for Leiden hopeful that he has stumbled upon yet another new species. He has left the budding plant at Frim and is eagerly waiting for the flower to bloom so that he could ascertain its status. - The Star.
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