By: Christopher Jacobs
It may be tucked away inconspicuously in one of our conservatories, but the in vitro Orchid Propagation Laboratory at the Vallarta Botanical Garden is a powerhouse of conservation. Every year the lab cultivates over 10,000 orchids from seed, covering 35 different species. What’s more, 4 of these species are critically endangered and dependent on active conservation efforts like this for their survival.
Mexico is an extremely biodiverse country; in fact, it boasts a higher floristic biodiversity than the USA, despite being just one fifth the size. There are approximately 26,000 species of vascular plants, compared to just 17,000 in the United States. Of these 26,000 plant species, 1,500 are orchids, with a significant number endemic to Mexico, meaning they’re found only here and nowhere else. This makes Mexico one of the richest countries in the Americas for orchid diversity, which is something that the Vallarta Botanical Garden, since our founding 20 years ago, has been working hard to protect.
Our Orchid Lab has been in operation since 2018, with the express purpose of growing and studying as many as possible of the orchid species that inhabit the “Los Horcones” river basin. The “Los Horcones” river runs through the Garden and into the Pacific Ocean at the village of Boca de Tomatlán, and its basin is home to over 50 different species of orchid – a very high number for a relatively small land area. Unfortunately, the biodiversity of the river basin also faces threats from illegal logging, forest fires and property development, making the Orchid Lab a vital component of the Vallarta Botanical Garden’s wider conservation efforts. And the results speak for themselves: the lab is now home to more than half of these 50 species!
The next time you visit us, take a moment to peek inside the Orchid Lab and marvel at the rows of orchid seedlings being carefully nurtured within. Among these seedlings are four extra special species that have only recently joined the collection. Thanks to 2023 funding from BGCI (Botanic Gardens Conservation International), we were able to incorporate four new species into our propagation program: Encyclia adenocaula, E. cordigera, E. huertae, and E. trachycarpa — all native to western Mexico and all classified as ‘threatened’ by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature).
The long-term vision is to exchange these four species with other Mexican botanical gardens, who will also cultivate them and re-introduce them back into the wild. The future is now looking a lot brighter for the Vallarta region’s orchids!
Would you like to help us with these conservation efforts? We are currently raising funds for an urgently needed industrial back-up generator to safeguard the seedlings in the Orchid Lab. Power cuts are unfortunately a regular occurrence in our remote location, especially during the rainy season and given increasingly frequent hurricanes. The delicate baby orchids need fans and temperature control, and will die if the power goes out for too long. To prevent this from happening, the Vallarta Botanical Garden is fundraising for an electric generator that will kick in when the lights go out.
Purchasing and installing the generator costs $40,000 USD. We need your help today to get us there! Every dollar donated will be doubled until the end of July, as a generous donor and longtime friend of VBG has committed to match every dollar raised of the other $20,000 USD.
