Orchid Island Named for Phalaenopsis Beauties

A tiny dot of land off the southeast coast of Taiwan is named for the beautiful Phalaenopsis orchids that grow in abundance on its rocky volcanic shores. One of the most popular orchid species in the world -- and the U.S. favorite -- because of their large, richly-colored, curvaceous blossoms, Phalaenopsis orchids are the same Just Add Ice Orchids sold at local groceries, home stores and garden centers in the U.S.

Barely 17 square miles in size, Orchid Island was claimed and mapped by the Japanese in the early 1600s, passing into Chinese control in 1945 during the aftermath of World War II. Known by numerous names over the centuries, the island was given the Chinese name Lan Yu, or Orchid Island, in 1946 in honor of the local Phalaenopsis orchids that grow there in great profusion.

Accessible only by air or sea, Orchid Island was populated 800 years ago by the Tao, a minority native tribe that immigrated from the Batan Archipelago in the Philippines. Paddling their canoes more than 100 miles, the Tao found refuge in the lush jungles that lay between the Orchid Island’s 8 steep volcanic peaks. Both Japan and China ensured that the native culture and natural orchid landscape would remain undisturbed by declaring the island an ethnological research area and restricting access. The island remained largely untouched by modern man and modern technology until 1967 when China opened it to public travel.

Today, Orchid Island is inhabited primarily by farmers and fishermen with taro, yams and millet being principal crops. Although not grown as an export crop, the beauty of the island’s namesake Phalaenopsis orchids draw visitors to this tiny island in the South China Sea.

Photo by: DuReMi