Jalan-jalan cari orkid : Merbok, Kedah

          We come again to another 'episode' of orchid 'shopping' trip..Actually this time around we (me and my other two friends) brought fellow orchid hobbyist from Singapore. He wanted to find some orchids for his collection..The nursery that we went to was called N&T Orchid, located in Merbok, Kedah one of the northern state of Malaysia..Actually we are a regular here, so we just showing the way to our friend..so since we are here, how can we resist the temptation not to look for one or two orchids for our own collection.! The owner of the Nursery is Lawrance Tang. For foreign visitors in this blog, you might knew him cause he travels all over the world to sell orchids in international orchid and flower shows.. 

          Jumpa lagi kali ni dalam 'episod' jalan-jalan cari orkid, Sebenarnya kali ni saya dan dua rakan lain hanya jadi penunjuk jalan untuk seorang 'sahabat orkid' dari Singapura yang bercadang nak beli pokok untuk koleksinya..Nurseri yang kami singgah tu namanya N&T Orchid, terletak di Merbok, Kedah. Dah datang sini faham-faham sajalah, takkan nak tengok saja..boleh ke tahan..? Tauke nurseri ni Lawrance Tang, rasanya kalau peminat orkid yang selalu pi pesta orkid atau flora mesti pernah jumpa dengan beliau..tapi beliau juga menjual orkid di pesta orkid dan bunga di luar negara..

 Creative way to use the old driftwood..

Variety of Phalaenopsis species and hybrids and 

other shade loving plants are planted here..

 70% of the orchids here are species..

local and from other countries..

To tha species lovers this is one of the place to be..

Rasanya dalam 70% koleksi orkid di nurseri ni 

adalah spesis orkid dalam dan luar negara..

kalau kaki spesis memang 'gila' la kalau datang sini..

 Another view from other angle..

 Rows of orchids in the nursery..

Bulbophyllums in a pot

 Cymbidium atropurpureum

 Closer look at the cymbidium..Dying to have this..

This is one of the most beautiful I've ever seen..! 

Finally I got one cutting..!  

Thanks Lawrance..!

Cymbidium atropurpureum hutan ni antara 

yang paling cantik pernah saya lihat..meleleh air liur..!

akhirnya dapat juga satu 'cutting' ! 

Terima Kasih Lawrance!

Jewel orchid species..

 Dossinia marmorata

 Ludisia discolor green variety

 Bulbophyllum claptonense var aurea..

 warna kuningnya memang cantik..bersih..

Bulbophyllum decurviscapum                Bulbophyllum becarrii

Dendrobium Monalex 

(Dendrobium bracteosum x Dendrobium smilliae)

Dendrobium hybrids

 Dendrobium cruentum..

it was reported that this species was already extinct in the wild..

now only nursery grown plant..

Spesis ni dalam hutan dah tak ada..

cuma yang ditanam dalam nurseri sahaja..

 

 Bulbophylum phalaenopsis

   Bulbophylum species            Cleisocentron merillianum

 Bulbophyllum species

 A very nice form and colour of Arundina graminifolia

 Nice Dendrobium formosae hybrids. 

Unfortunately the 'not for sale' one..

 Cattleya luedemanniana

 Cattleya walkeriana coerulea

 Sobralia species

 

Dendrochilum species                   Isochilus species

 Cattleya nobilior var amaliae

Spathoglottis hybrid                Dendrobium stratiotes

Truthfully speaking we are not planning to buy anything...We went there with the hope there was nothing interesting to buy..(Yeah..like that was going to happen..lol)..funny thing was that we were the first ones who bought orchids than our Singaporean friend.. lol..

 Memang betul-betul mulanya tak nak beli apa-apa..harap-harap tak adalah yang menarik hati..maklumlah poket tak cukup besar, Tapi akhirnya kami yang beli orkid dulu dari rakan Singapura tu..ha..ha..

How can you consider flower power outdated? 

The essence of my lyrics is the desire for peace and harmony. 

That's all anyone has ever wanted. 

How could it become outdated? 

- Robert Plant
 

Glow in the dark orchid..!!!?

         I've heard about this somewhere, but couldn't remember where and when, Is this for real.? Now since I come across it on the internet I cant' help it, but make a post about one of this big achievement in horticulture..It's not new actually..in 2003! Where have I been? lol..but now I can safely confirmed that what I've heard was true..

         Saya ada dengar berita ni, bila dan dimana tak ingat..itu pun macam gitu-gitu saja..tapi bila dah terjumpa rasanya ini mesti buat entri dalam blog ni..Ini merupakan satu pencapaian yang besar di dalam bidang hortikultur..cerita ni rupanya dah lama sejak 2003..ha..ha..Tapi sekarang kira dah confirm la orkid ni ada..

         Silalah baca petikan di bawah ni, malas nak terjemah banyak sangat istilah saintifik..takut salah tafsir pulak..Petikan daripada artikel edaran Persatuan Orkid Missouri Tengah, USA..

This is from The Central Missouri Orchid Society December 2003 newsletter:

Creating a "Glow-in-the-dark" Orchid

         The world's first and only genetically modified bioluminescent orchid has been successfully developed by Prof. Chia Tet Fatt from the National Institute of Education (NIE). To create the bioluminescent orchid, Prof. Chia transformed tissues from orchids (the Dendrobium genus) using the firefly luciferase gene. Using a method called "particle bombardment", biologically active DNA from the firefly gene was delivered into orchid tissues. Transformed cells were identified by their bioluminescence trait. These transformed tissues were propagated and used to generate transgenic plants (plants with a foreign gene incorporated). This process was repeated several times, and the bioluminescent trait was present in all transgenic plants. This confirms that the firefly luciferase gene has been integrated into the orchid. Unlike the fluorescent traits which store and re-emit light energy, the bioluminescent trait of the orchid uses its own energy to create light. These bioluminescent orchids will produce constant light, visible to the human eye, for up to 5 hours in a stretch. This greenish-white light is emitted from the whole orchid, including roots, stem, leaves and petals. The intensity of light produced varies across the different parts, ranging from 5,000 to 30,000 photons per second. Genetic transformation can help supplement traditional breeding of orchids to create orchids with desirable traits, such as novel colours, longer shelf life and increased resistance to pests and diseases. It is also possible that this procedure can be used for the transformation of other species.

  

And this is how the 'glow in the dark' plant and flower look like....inilah rupanya..

         So what do you think? There's a lot that can be said about this..positive, negative..  but suddenly this reminds me of the flora and fauna on Pandora moon, The world in Avatar movie..Imagine if we walk in the garden at night we see orchid plants and flowers glow.. exciting?

        Jadi apa yang anda fikirkan..macam-macam pendapat boleh diberikan..positif, negatif..tiba-tiba saya teringat pulak filem Avatar..flora dan fauna di Pandora yang bercahaya di dalam gelap..Bayangkan kalau kita berjalan di dalam taman pada waktu malam ada pula orkid yang 'glow in the dark'... Mengujakan?

Some people worry that artificial intelligence will make us feel inferior, 

but then, anybody in his right mind should have an inferiority complex 

every time he looks at a flower. 

- Alan Kay
 

First Orchid Hybrids !

           Nowadays when you see orchids, whether it is for sale, during flower exhibition or growing in a garden, most of it are hybrids..they are everywhere..but did you ever wonder what is the first orchid hybrids? Here's the story..

           October 1856 was a big month for botany. That's when flowers bloomed on the world's first hybrid orchid. Botanist John Dominy raised the plant at a nursery in Exeter, England. The name? Calanthe Dominii, meaning, Dominy's beautiful flower. It was a breakthrough for the plant world, but one horticulturist warned, "You'll drive the botanists mad." And perhaps he did. Mr. Dominy started a trend that has blossomed almost beyond belief. He had produced 25 hybrid orchids by the time he retired in 1880. At the turn of the century there were more than 1,000. And today, the count is past 200,000 varieties and still climbing. Each year some 2,000 new hybrid orchids of all shapes, sizes and colors appear in greenhouses and at shows, and some are, well, downright bizarre. 

          Sekarang ni kalau kita nampak orkid, kebanyakannya mesti hibrid, tak kiralah sama ada yang nak dijual, dalam pameran atau pertandingan bunga atau di dalam taman.. tapi pernahkan kita tertanya- tanya apa orkid kacukan yang pertama sekali dihasilkan oleh ahli botani? OK,  bacalah ceritanya di bawah ni..

          Orkid kacukan pertama yang dihasilkan oleh manusia ialah Calanthe Dominii, hasil proses kacukan dari spesis Calanthe masuca dengan Calanthe furcata..mula dilakukan pada tahun 1853, dan pokok ini telah berbunga pada tahun 1856. Ia adalah satu kejayaan yang sangat besar di dalam bidang hortikultur pada masa tersebut..Orang yang bertanggungjawab menghasilkan orkid kacukan ini ialah John Dominy Ketua Tukang Kebun yang betugas di Nurseri James and James Veitch di England..hasil daripada kacukan pertama inilah, sehingga kini telah berkembang dengan pesat pelbagai jenis orkid kacukan bukan setakat antara spesis yang sama tetapi juga antara spesis orkid yang berbeza..sehingga kini lebih 200,000 jenis hibrid telah dihasilkan dan setiap tahun sekurang-kurangnya bertambah lagi sebanyak 2000 hibrid baru yang berbagai saiz, bentuk, warna malahan yang pelik pun ada..

 John Dominy (1816 – 1891), 

head gardener, plant grower at the nurseries of James and James Veitch in Exeter, 1834–1841, and Chelsea, c 1846–80. Grew the first known artificially produced orchid hybrid, Calanthe Dominii, flowered in 1856 after crossings that has been made in 1853.

The first man made hybrid in this genus is 

Calanthe Dominii (Calanthe masuca × Calanthe furcata) 

which was made by John Dominy in 1853.

The Japanese say, If the flower is to be beautiful, it must be cultivated. 
- Lester Cole

Orchid and Movie

        In this blog I've posted everything that related to orchid..This is my first post about orchid in movies even though this is totally the fantasy one, but the use of orchid in the main storyline makes it interesting to me..Why orchid, not other flower? Maybe because orchid throughout history has long been known to exudes an aura of mystery, elusive and their exotic appearance makes it suit to be in the main storyline..

       So, what movie is it? I think you have seen it, quite popular, though to me  its kinda cheesy..If you haven't and wants to watch it, don't analyze anything..kinda no brainer movie, strictly popcorn, with cheap FX..need I say more? The movie is Anacondas : The Hunts For The Blood Orchids..here's the synopsis and the movie poster..

        Kali ni nak pos cerita orkid di dalam filem pula..ini pos yang pertama untuk tajuk ni..Dalam filem ni  bunga orkid telah dikaitkan dengan perjalanan cerita..Kenapa orkid? kenapa tak bunga lain..Mungkin sebab yang kita dah sedia maklum sejarah orkid ni panjang..bunga yang ada aura misteri, sukar dijumpai dan kelihatan eksotik sesuai dengan cerita berbentuk pengembaraan ni..

        Jadi filem apa tu? Tak lain tak bukan ialah filem Anaconda : The Hunt For The Blood Orchid'. kat sini popularlah jugak tapi cerita ni  tahap gred B saja..tak perlu fikir apa pun cuma nak tengok ular anaconda tu telan orang saja..ha..ha..efek jangan ceritalah, macam murah saja..Nak cerita lagi..tak payahlah..kepada yang belum tengok ni sinopsis dan poster wayangnya..

Synopsis

       In New York, the ambitious Dr. Jack Byron and his associate Gordon Mitchell present the research of his assistant Sam Rogers to the CEO and board of directors of a corporation to sponsor a scientific expedition to Borneo. The objective is to find a flower, Blood Orchid, that flourishes for a couple of weeks every seven years and could be a fountain of youth, prolonging the expectation of life of human beings. They are succeeded and once in Borneo, they realize that it is the raining season and there is no boat available to navigate on the river. They pay US$ 50,000.00 to convince Captain Bill Johnson and his partner Tran to sail to the location. After an accident in a waterfall, the survivors realize that a pack of anacondas have gathered for mating and their nest is nearby the colony of Blood Orchid, which made them bigger and bigger..

                                                          And..the movie trailer..

   
          This is the fictional ' Blood orchid' named in the movie 'Perrinia immortalis'..I search the word 'Perrinia'  is actually a genus of sea snail...Does this even look like an orchid? Yeah..yeah..alright..don't be too critical, the anacondas are the main star here..Hey its just a movie..Maybe they want to create a bizarre imaginary orchid to convey that this is super special..cause this so called blood orchid that can renew living cells never existed. Well, its a fantasy after all, whatever they claim we have to accept..lol..furthermore, in the movie this blood orchid plant looks like a genus Cymbidium, with a long strap leaved foliage..Watch the movie if you don't expect anything substantial..

          Ha..ni lah bunga orkid yang diceritakan di dalam filem ni..'Blood orchid'. Kalau diterjemah jadi 'orkid darah' kenalah dengan warnanya tu..Nama saintifiknya ialah Perrinia immortalis..sedap..tapi saya cari dalam internet 'Perrinia' tu nama saintifik bagi sejenis siput laut...Bunga ni nampak macam orkid ke? Apa-apa aja lah..jangan kritikal sangat, faham-faham sajalah cerita fantasi..mana orkid macam ni wujud..dikatakan khasiatnya boleh melambatkan proses penuaan..Jadi untuk filem ni mereka rekalah bunga orkid fantasi yang pelik supaya dapat meyakinkan lagi penonton dengan khasiat yang diperkatakan tu..terima ajalah..lagi satu pokok orkid ini digambarkan lebih kurang macam pokok Cymbidium..tumbuh di atas tanah dengan rumpun yang berdaun panjang..Kalau nak tengok filem ni silalah..untuk seronok-seronok aja..


                                            

                                                              I brought the film like a flower to the world. 
                                                                                  - Claude Chabrol
 

Orchid and Couture...

        Creativity can be translated into many things..Creative people will always want to create.. The process of creation involve a combination of a lot of things such as experience, observation, aesthetic value, skills, artistic impression and problem solving..In visual art, creativity will lead to the creation of something visually, whether attractive to us or not, it's the artist way of expression and realization of something that is previously was in his/her mind..We should respect and appreciate that effort to bring out something that can inspire, excite or surprise. Without all this artistic creation, we would be living in a dull world..

        Being art educated, of course I value all these things. Now what about all this creativity stuff that relate to orchid ? All I can say is that 'Orchid inspires', that says a lot because throughout the history, orchid with its uniqueness, beauty and mystery have made it a subject of expression from literature works to all sorts of miscellaneous things until now..Those things whether valuable to us or not that is not the important factor but the main thing is they still make its mark somewhere in history of human existence. Again, what is it have to do with this post? Well, while browsing the internet searching for interesting feature to be added in this blog I found this..Orchid inspired couture..as you should know fashion is one of the section in visual art. Lets see how does it looks like..

       Kreativiti boleh diterjemahkan menjadi banyak benda. Mereka yang kreatif selalu ingin mencipta sesuatu. Proses penciptaan ini adalah dari kombinasi banyak perkara antaranya pengalaman, pemerhatian, nilai estetik, kemahiran, impresi artistik dan penyelesaian masalah..Dalam seni visual, kreativiti akan membawa kepada sesuatu rekaan secara visual. sama ada menarik atau tidak kepada kita, ini adalah salah satu cara penciptanya untuk berekspresi dan mewujudkan suatu ciptaan yang sebelum ini ada di dalam minda mereka. Kita seharusnya menunjukkan penghargaan di atas usahanya untuk mewujudkan sesuatu yang memberikan inspirasi, mengujakan atau mengejutkan..Tanpa semua ciptaan-ciptaan ini kita akan tinggal di sebuah dunia yang membosankan..
       Dengan berlatarbelakangkan pendidikan di dalam bidang kesenian, sememangnya saya menghargai perkara-perkara ini. Jadi apa yang kena mengenanya cerita kreativiti ni dengan orkid? Yang boleh saya katakan di sini mudah saja iaitu 'orkid memberi inspirasi'. Memang tak dinafikan, kerana di sepanjang sejarah ketamadunan manusia, bunga orkid dengan keunikan, kecantikan dan misterinya telah menjadi subjek untuk manusia berekspresi atau berkarya dari bidang kesusasteraan sehinggalah benda-benda pelbagai ragam yang berkaitan dengan bunga ini. Sama ada ia berharga dan membantu kita tu bukanlah faktor penting tetapi sesuatu yang pasti, ia telah dan tetap berada di suatu sudut dalam lipatan sejarah. Sekali lagi, apa kena mengenanya dengan pos yang kali ini ? Masa saya sedang mencari-cari bahan untuk blog ni terjumpalah sesuatu yang menarik untuk dikongsi..iaitu fesyen berinspirasikan bunga orkid, sebelum tu kita perlu tahu bahawa bidang rekaan fesyen ini juga adalah salah satu cabang seni visual..macam mana rupanya? lihat di bawah..

          This is from Christian Dior Fall 2010 Couture collection with floral theme. John Galliano the designer,  transformed his models into walking tulips, tiger lillies and orchids. This particular dress especially the frilled skirt and the colour will remind us of Cattleya orchids..This is what I call a high level of creativity, to make a design based on a flower using all the important elements, In this design I can feel the orchid theme though it has been very much transformed into a dress but still with an essence of an orchid flower..

         
         Gambar rekaan ini adalah dari peragaan pentas Koleksi musim luruh Christian Dior yang bertemakan bunga-bungaan. Pereka Dior, John Galliano telah mengubah model-model ini menjadi seperti kuntuman bunga yang bergerak. Baju yang seperti di dalam gambar di atas sememangnya mengambil inspirasi daripada bunga orkid, macam Cattleya bukan?. Inilah yang saya katakan sebagai kreativiti tahap tinggi, bukan sekadar ambil bunga orkid susun atas baju.. kerana bukan senang untuk menggubah semula 'identiti' sekuntum bunga untuk di sarungkan di badan..

Do you see the elements 'borrowed' from the flower? 

Nampak tak elemen-elemen yang 'dipinjam' dari bunga Cattleya ini?

If I had a single flower for every time I think about you, 

I could walk forever in my garden. 

- Claudia Grandi

Orchid and Song

         Now it'sTime for some music..lets hear another nice 'orchid' theme song from Kate Rowe, an award-winning Australian singer-songwriter. The song gets an inspiration from Drakonorchis barbarossa, a native species from Western Australia..

         Satu lagi 'lagu orkid' untuk halwa telinga..Dendangan seorang Penyanyi dan pencipta lagu dari Australia, Kate Rowe. Lagu ini mendapat inspirasi dari Drakonorchis barbarossa, satu spesis orkid yang tumbuh di Barat Australia..

 This is the orchid that she was singing about..

Dragon orchid / Drakonorchis barbarossa

And here's the song..Dragon Orchid..

Inilah lagunya yang bertajuk ' Dragon Orchid'..

Nice isn't it..easy listening and catchy tune..

Sedap juga lagunya, baru pertama kali dengar ni..

Love is the answer, and you know that for sure; 

Love is a flower, you've got to let it grow. 

- John Lennon