Orchids of Colombia: an unknown natural treasure threatened by deforestation and climate change

It is no coincidence that Colombia's national flower is an orchid. Although the Cattleya trianae, as this flagship plant is scientifically known, was chosen because the combination of the blue, yellow and red colors of its petals is reminiscent of the flag, it is also a sample of the more than 4,200 species that have been identified in our country, giving us the title of the country with the greatest diversity of this group, considered by scientists to be one of the greatest evolutionary wonders of the plant world.

(Lea esta historia en español, aquí)

Present in almost all the continents of the planet - the only exception being Antarctica - in our country this family of flowering plants, known as Orchidaceae, found in its evolutionary process a sum of ingredients that became the perfect recipe for an explosion of biodiversity, which today is the subject of study by experts concerned to decipher at an accelerated pace the secrets that make these plants "masters of speciation" before they continue to disappear.

For Óscar Pérez-Escobar, a leading researcher at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (London, UK), who has focused his work on orchids, although there are several factors that have given rise to this exuberant diversity, the most important is the heterogeneity of the Colombian landscape, composed of valleys, mountains and deserts, in which we can find all the thermal soils.

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But it is not only that these landscapes exist in Colombia, but also how and at what speed they were formed in the geological history of our planet. "One factor that generates a lot of diversity is when you have a mountain, for example, and it is formed very quickly. That's what happened with the Andes. The northern part of the mountain range, which is in Colombia, formed very quickly compared to other parts. This allowed the orchids to find and conquer new environments in a short period of time," explains Pérez-Escobar.

But how they did it remains a mystery. Kew is studying the genetics of these plants, which may indicate that - like daisies, the second largest family of flowering plants - they have duplicated their genes over thousands of years of evolution.

"When the genetic content of an organism is duplicated, a number of things can happen. One is that all that material gets new functions, and that translates into adaptability to different environments. This is the most plausible hypothesis that we have yet to confirm," says the scientist.

Despite the fact that Colombia's orchid potential is recognized worldwide, researchers like Pérez-Escobar estimate that there are still many species that have not yet been described. "I would venture to say that we could easily find another 3,000 orchid species. That would be almost 40 percent more than the known species," says the Kew expert, who adds that since 2016, almost 1,600 new plant species, including orchids, have been described in the country. A figure that can serve as a reference for what could still be found in the field.

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It is these processes of exploration and description of new species that often cause Colombia and Ecuador to share the first place in the ranking of orchid species, a list that is followed by nations such as New Guinea, Peru and Brazil. The point of this competition for the crown of biodiversity is that the neighboring country with which we share this title is ahead in the description and classification of its natural inventory, which leaves our country with a greater potential to expand its own, once progress is made in counting what is currently unknown.

In this task, the Chocó biogeographical region, which extends from Panama to Ecuador, crossing Colombia, stands out as one of the great gaps for science. On the other hand, departments such as Antioquia, Valle del Cauca and some regions of Caquetá stand out among the most studied regions, although, according to experts, most of the Colombian territory does not have orchid inventories for tourism.

This also hinders the development of a bio-economy around this natural resource. "In Colombia, in of ecotourism, birds have always been the trend. But now activities like visiting places to photograph orchids have become more popular. Nevertheless, I would say that it is an industry that is not well exploited. First, because we don't have a good understanding of how much orchid diversity there is. There is no floristic compendium like there is for butterflies, because there are many species and it can take decades to do such a job and we don't have enough hands," says Pérez-Escobar, who believes that orchids have the potential to become a tourist attraction like birds are today, with a target audience with high purchasing power.

According to the 2015 Plan for the Study and Conservation of Orchids, prepared by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development in collaboration with the Institute of Natural Sciences of the National University of Colombia, the main threat to orchids is the destruction of their natural ecosystems due to deforestation and habitat conversion, as this plant family requires forest cover for its establishment and development.

From Kew Garden also identifies illegal trade and climate change as risk factors that could lead to extinction or a reduction in their range and population size.

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"Fifty-six percent of the world's orchids are threatened to some degree. In Colombia, however, we are not sure because there are no detailed lists, and most likely the diversity that is not known, that has not been described, is also threatened with extinction," says Perez-Escobar.

Today, even our emblematic national flower is threatened. The Christmas orchid is one of the plants currently listed as critically endangered due to deforestation and selective harvesting for commercial use. As accustomed as we are to seeing it in photographs and postcards, this flower is difficult to capture in its natural state, so much so that researchers like Perez-Escobar have been unable to find it in nearly a decade of study. To get to know it, it is necessary to resort to biological collections, where it is preserved.

ALEJANDRA LÓPEZ PLAZAS

SCIENCE DESK

@TiempodeCiencia

@malelopezpl