Illinois Professor on Mission to Re-establish ‘Extinct’ Orchid

Nearly extinct, a rare Hawaiian orchid is being given a second chance. An Illinois botany professor and several of his students who have nurtured 90 delicate Platanthera holochila orchid plants from seed will travel to Hawaii to reintroduce the orchids to islands where the species is now extinct. One of three orchid species found only on the Hawaiian Islands, Platanthera holochila once grew in the swaps and mountains of four major islands: Kauai, Oahu, Molokai and Maui. Today, only 45 plants are known to remain in existence. The species is now extinct on Oahu and grows in only a few places on Molokai and Maui. A single specimen exists in a protected enclosure in the Alakai Swap on Kauai, once a showcase for this delicate fringe orchid.

A victim of wild pigs, goats, orchid poachers and hurricanes, the existence of Platanthera holochila has become increasingly threatened over the past 20 years and is now in danger of extinction. When Illinois College associate professor Larry Zettler arrives with his 90 plants, the orchid’s population in Hawaii will be effectively doubled.

Zettler has been working with the Hawaiian Plant Extinction Prevention Program. When the seedlings are planted, each orchid will be planted on the island from which its seed was harvested to maintain genetic integrity. In the hope of reestablishing the orchid species in Kauai’s Alakai Swamp, several orchid plants will be planted near the sole species survivor on that island to encourage cross-pollination and development of a new orchid community.

An unusual orchid, Platanthera holochila, lacks the startling beauty of Just Add Ice Phalaenopsis Orchids. Called a “fringe orchid,” it can grow to a height of several feet and produces long spikes covered with tiny green-yellow flowers. It is the rarest of Hawaii’s three native orchid species.

Photo By: pfly