Orchid  (Cymbidium rectum)

Classified as Vulnerable on the 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants (3), and listed on Appendix II of CITES (4).

This orchid is an epiphyte and has thick leathery leaves (2). The leafless flower stalk (known as a scape) is horizontal and may be up to 40 centimetres long, containing around 17 fruit-scented flowers (2). The petals are pale yellow with a central maroon coloured stripe (2). The white lip has three lobes, these are spotted with maroon and there is a single maroon spot at the tip of the central lobe (2).

Cymbidium rectum was fist described from peninsular Malaysia in 1920 but was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in Sabah on the island of Borneo in the early 1980s (4). Although currently unknown from this site, an additional single location has since been discovered in east Kalimantan, in the Indonesian part of Borneo; this species is also widely distributed in cultivation (4).

This orchid is an epiphyte (it uses another plant for support) that grows on small stunted trees, usually less than 6 metres tall (2). It is particularly associated with Baeckia frutescens trees, in kerangas forest and peat swamp (4).

Cymbidium rectum flowers year-round, although there appears to be a peak in activity between September and December (2). This species has developed a symbiotic relationship with biting ants; the ants are found amongst the root system, feeding on nectar whilst at the same time protecting this orchid from plant-eating insects (2).

The area in Sabah where Cymbidium rectum was rediscovered has since been clear-felled and it is likely that this orchid is no longer found in this area (5).

When Cymbidium rectum was rediscovered in the wild, a living plant was sent to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew and seedlings have since been cultivated and widely distributed (5). Further surveys of similar habitat in Borneo are needed to ascertain if there are any additional wild populations of this rare orchid (4).