Orchids are among the most beautiful flowers in the world — and perhaps the most vulnerable to rising global temperatures.
Some orchid species are declining by as much as 50% in some areas, and our changing climate threatens to wipe them out forever.
To fight for our world's orchids, the Guardian reported that scientists are identifying and breeding soil fungi that help the flowers thrive and then transplanting the fungi to conserve orchid populations. The type of fungi orchids need depends on location and other habitat conditions.
Melissa McCormick, a researcher at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, shared with the Guardian, "We've just started a big effort called native orchid propagation for sustainability, where we are working to develop all of the propagation protocols that are needed to grow orchids both in [a] garden setting but also to reintroduce them to habitats where they've perhaps been lost or to supplement populations that exist already."
"Orchids are the largest family of flowering plants on the planet, and roughly half of them are conservation concerns," Peter Zale from the orchid research program at Pennsylvania's Longwood Gardens told the Guardian. "So, everywhere they occur, they're rare."
Another way scientists are helping to conserve orchids is by raising awareness about the rare types that many people have never seen. They set up a moss-covered exhibit at the U.K.'s Chelsea Flower Show to put rare orchids on public display.
Scientific methods like transplanting fungi are promising, but the world's orchids also need ordinary citizens to recognize, report, and protect them where they live. With approximately 28,000 species existing today, according to the Huntington Botanical Gardens, orchids grow in nearly every habitat on Earth.
You can also learn about rare types of orchids and how to best care for them. Gardening enthusiasts have shared their tips online about reviving an orchid that may seem dead and growing orchids in water to keep them beautiful longer.
"If we raise awareness, people will be able to appreciate and protect what they have growing near them," Johanna Hutchins, a Chicago Botanic Garden orchid floriculturist, said to the Guardian. "But if people do want to see the orchids, they should go and take pictures, not trample the earth around them, be respectful, and definitely do not take them from the habitat."
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