Melbourne horticulturalists are abuzz over a very rare orchid from PNG, which is blooming for the first time in more than 30 years.
The Tongue Orchid was collected from Papua New Guinea in the 1970s, and has since been carefully tended by Melbourne’s Royal Botanical Gardens.
Buds first appeared on the plant about two years ago, but the pink and purple flower only started to bloom in the past week.
There’s just one problem – the orchid smells like a cross between rotting flesh and manure.
The flowering Tongue Orchid has brought scores of visitors to the hot house at Melbourne’s Royal Botanical Gardens.
Mark Finnigan from the Gardens’ nursery division first noticed the orchid was in bloom. “About two weeks ago I was looking at the plant, and discovered a small flower that was about one or two inches long,” he says.
“Obviously this was exciting, and we were on tender hooks thinking, well I hope it doesn't fall off like the last time. Within a week and a half it grew and grew, and now it's fully in bloom!”
The orchid has attracted lots of interest from Melbournians as well as international visitors, including Margaret Bradley. “It's amazing!” she says. “We came especially to see it - but I thought it would be much bigger.
“I'm interested in the leaves, the shape - they're called tongues and they're just like an ox tongue only not as thick.”
Blooming hot
The flower is in a special environment, along with the Botanical Gardens’ other tropical plants.
“Obviously here in Melbourne the temperature outside is a little bit cold for tropical plants, so the glasshouse provides all the perfect conditions to recreate the tropics like in Papua New Guinea and Brazil and the Africas - so conditions are right - moisture, humidity, temperature,” says Mark Finnigan.
The Tongue Orchid, which can be found in Papua New Guinea's Highlands region, has been growing in a special environment at the Botanical Gardens for 32 years.
I asked Mark Finnigan if the staff were sick of waiting for the orchid to flower.
Not at all!
“The plant is called the Tongue Orchid because of its leaves, the leaves are about almost a metre long so it's quite a plant just to look at and the flower is a bonus,” he says.
“It’s quite a showy plant.”
Still researching
Mr Finnigan says he doesn’t know how often the plant flowers in its natural habitat in PNG.
“I'm in contact with a Papua New Guinea orchid expert in trying to find out some more details of its native habitat,” he explains.
"What I know so far is that it's an uncommon plant - even in its native Papua New Guinea Highlands region.”
The orchid has been in flower for about a week, and is now past its peak. Mark Finnigan believes it will be showing its age within the next week.
’Exciting’ aroma
If you’re interested in seeing the orchid, and can make it to Melbourne, you should be warned - there is a drawback.
The flower stinks.
“It smells of rotting flesh,” says Mark Finnigan. “This is to attract blowflies in the wild so it will pollinate and lots of plants do this.
“This is the way the plant propagates and it's quite exciting.”
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