Indonesian botanists have revealed their discovery of a new orchid species endemic to Java, an island that is home to thousands of endemic orchid species.

The new species, Gastrodia bambu, was discovered by botanist Destario Metusala of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) at the Purwodadi Botanical Gardens in Central Java.

The discovery was revealed in Phytotaxa, an international scientific journal, published in mid-August.

The publication was jointly written by Destario and Jatna Supriatna, a scientist with the University of Indonesia biological conservation department.

“The discovery of this new orchid species was an invaluable gift for LIPI’s 50th anniversary, which fell on Aug. 23,” LIPI-BKT dissemination and partnership supervisor Lia Hapsari said on Wednesday.

Destario said the species was part of the holomikotropic orchid group, the orchids of which were often called “ghost orchids” by the world’s scientists due to their life cycle, which takes place in stages almost entirely underground, emerging above ground only when flowering.

The name bambu (bamboo), he added, referred to its specific habitat. “The entire population was found very close to old bamboo clumps, growing in wet soil containing partly decomposed bamboo leaf litter, in the very deep shade cast by the bamboo plant’s canopy.”

Destario further said that the Gastrodia bambu was found only on Java Island, mostly in West Java and Mount Merapi in Yogyakarta.

“Besides Mount Merapi, we also discovered the species at Mount Gede-Pangrango in West Java, the home of other species of the ghost orchid family.”

“The species is very resistant to drought, excess light intensity and small changes occurring in the place where it’s growing,” Destario said.

The population of the ghost orchid has declined because of clearcutting of bamboo clumps for logs and hot clouds intermittently released by Mt. Merapi, a highly active volcano. Local botanists estimate that fewer than 1,000 orchids of the new species exist today.

As the species is sensitive to environmental damage, it is a good indicator species in assessing the impact of climate change, Destario said.

Like most holomikotropic orchids, the Gastrodia bambu has yet to be cultivated outside its original habitat, which makes conservation of the new species a challenge.

The discovery adds to the long list of orchids found in Indonesia, which is home to more than 6,000 orchid species endemic to the archipelago, thanks to its location in a transitional zone, where biodiversity is among the highest in the world.

The country, through a 1993 presidential regulation, officially named an orchid species — Phalaenopsis amabilis, locally known as anggrek bulan (moon orchid) — as its national flower. It is often called puspa pesona (flower of charm).

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