I was just reading an article by Harold Koopowitz and Norito Hasegawa where they state "Paphiopedilum rothschildianum is now said to be extinct in the wild". While I knew they were in a bit of trouble, I had not heard that they had been totally wiped out. Can anyone confirm this.

David

I couldn't imagine someone can say roths is already extincted in the wild if there are still plenty of wild collected plants listed for sell over there ... :(

Well I guess they are sitting in someones backyard waiting to be shipped out.

My limited knowledge on this is there were 3 populations of which one had already been wiped out. The other two were in a national park safe from logging but not poachers. I guess it is/was only a matter of time before they were wiped out. And no matter how many roths there are in glasshouses around the world, once they have been removed from their natural environment they are as good as extinct in terms of an evolutionary sense. You could try transplanting down the track but plants selected for flower size and speed to flowering may have little ability to survive in the jungles of Borneo.

David

No, rothschildianum is not extinct in the wild.

Hi,

Still seeing some available in local nurseries so they are not extinct.

Regards,

Joseph.

:welcome: Joe!
Good to hear that. Out of curiosity, where are you?