The black orchid queens of the deep forest

Nature has lavished an extraordinary beauty on the orchid family, and the diversity of its flowers has astonished people from ancient times to the present day. Indeed, the orchid family Orchidaceae is often called the queen of beauty for the elegance of its gorgeous flower clusters, their vivid colors and heady fragrance, and the graceful, almost beckoning sway of their stems. Orchids have always been a passion for people from every walk of life, drawn by the desire to enjoy the pure beauty of nature.

>>> The strange world of orchids

The more than 1,000 orchid species that botanists have recorded in Vietnam show a diversity worth everyone's attention and protection. Among the hundreds of orchid genera, each species has its own proud beauty in a wide range of brilliant colors. Yet Vietnam is also home to a few remarkably unusual orchids whose flowers are jet black or blackish purple.

1. Bulbophyllum nigrescens

Bulbophyllum nigrescens – (Photo: Nguyễn Thị Liên Thương)

The petals of this orchid are so tiny that its lip and the hairs on its flowers can only be seen through a macro lens. It usually grows at elevations of 1,500 m and above, with strap-shaped, oblong leaves that are blunt at the tip and taper at the base into a short stalk. The slender inflorescence, 30–40 mm long and covered in a white bloom, carries evenly spaced, drooping flowers toward its tip. The flowers are deep black, with near-identical sepals bearing fine hairs. The petals are even hairier. The tongue-shaped lip curves upward and is fringed with hairs, like a masterpiece bestowed by nature.

2. Bulbophyllum spadiciflorum

Bulbophyllum spadiciflorum – (Photo: Nguyễn Thị Liên Thương)

Its spike-like inflorescence rises from the base of the pseudobulb on a thick, swollen common stalk up to 50 cm long, decorated with many small yellowish-green flowers striped with purple. The lateral sepals are broad and curved, and the tongue-shaped lip is blackish purple. Blooming in May, this orchid usually grows as an epiphyte on tree trunks at elevations of nearly 2,000 meters, where mist hangs year-round. Unless you study orchids, you would be hard-pressed to spot it in the wild.

3. Sunipia nigricans

Sunipia nigricans – (Photo: Nguyễn Thị Liên Thương)

Every year around March–April, these blackish-purple flowers, which give off a very unpleasant smell, come into bloom in Phong Thổ, a former district of Lai Châu province in northwestern Vietnam. The leaves are narrow and oblong, 4–10 cm long and 1 cm wide, with a pointed tip and a tapering base on a 1 cm stalk. The inflorescence is fairly long, and the whole flower, lip included, is blackish purple. This orchid was only discovered by orchid researchers in December 2007 and is a very rare species in Vietnam's wild.

4. Trichotosia dalatensis

Trichotosia dalatensis – (Photo: Nguyễn Thị Liên Thương)

This small epiphytic orchid, with long stems, roots at the base and upright growth, is a narrow endemic known only from Lâm Đồng province in Vietnam's Central Highlands. Its alternate leaves are narrow and thick, 1 cm long and densely covered in grey hairs. The inflorescence sits at the stem tip, and the outside of the flowers is covered in hairs, a deep, dark black. The lip bears two dark spots and brown stripes, with a wavy margin. Because it is endemic and its flowers are so tiny, getting to admire this orchid is a challenge even for orchid researchers.

5. Bulbophyllum lemniscatoides

Bulbophyllum lemniscatoides – (Photo: Nguyễn Thị Liên Thương)

A true masterpiece of creation, at first glance Bulbophyllum lemniscatoides looks like the multicolored, tasseled headscarf of a young Arab woman. Its small flowers are packed closely together, blackish purple and hairy, oblong and long, spreading open at three corners. The lip is a blackish reddish-purple and curved. It also has a rich fragrance, a precious gift from Vietnam's nature well worth admiring.

6. Luisia antennifera

Luisia antennifera – (Photo: Nguyễn Thị Liên Thương)

The lip turns almost black, looking like the back of a spider, and the flowers grow along the stem. Both the stem and leaves of this orchid are cylindrical. The leaves are widely spaced, evenly pointed, more than 10 cm long, and jointed on the stem. The long, narrow petals curve outward like spider legs, making it well worth admiring the pure beauty of one of the black queens of the forest.

7. Bulbophyllum secundum

Bulbophyllum secundum – (Photo: Nguyễn Thị Liên Thương)

It does not put on a dazzling show like other orchids, because its flower clusters are too small for the naked eye to appreciate. Bulbophyllum secundum is an epiphyte with a soft rhizome. The pseudobulbs are flat and smooth, each bearing a single leaf at the tip. The leaves are strap-shaped and taper at the base into a short stalk. The inflorescence is slender and long, rising above the leaves. The flowers are numerous and small, arranged along one side. They are a tawny reddish to blackish purple, with hairy petals. The tongue-shaped lip is black and hairy along the ridge, and its flowering period is so short that watching this orchid bloom and fade is a real test of your patience.

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This article was translated from Vietnamese. Read the original