Shwe Ghost Orchid

Shwe in our language, or Gold, is the name Myanmars used as a pseudonym for identifying each other outside of our country. Myanmar refers to people, language, as well as the land. The common feature of all ghost orchids—American, European, Asian, or Shwe—is that they don't normally have leaves. While the American and Asian ghost orchids grow on trees, the European ghost orchid grows on the ground.

I didn't know that there are orchids called ghost orchids when I discovered this leafless orchid near Pinlebu Town in Upper Myanmar.

Unlike most of my drawings, I had not signed and dated this one. It must be in the period 1972-1977 because I was working in the Shwebo District that time. I'm not sure if the flowers were recorded when I cut the branch up, or when the orchid flowered at home later. My description reads:

Spls oblong, tip blunt, petals wider,

lemon yellow, lip boat shaped, fls 1 cm across,

rachis fleshy, bracts minute, rachis pubescent green in color,

I've forgotten about this drawing and this orchid for a long time, until 2004 November when I chanced to find out about the American Ghost Orchid and then the Asian ghost orchids. From this picture of Chiloschista unoides, an Asian ghost orchid, I came to know that my ghost orchid must be a Chiloschista:

I noted that while my description of my flower fits well with that, the color is different and mine is rather dull colored. Too bad, I didn't own a camera that time. As for identification I used to have a 1966 reprint by Central Press, Rangoon of the "The Orchids of Burma" compiled by Captain Bartle Grant, Adjutant, Rangoon Volunteer Rifles, printed in 1895. I remember buying the book at Sarpay-beikman book stall in Yangon at a price of 12 kyats. I couldn't have looked for my orchid in this book when I made the drawing because I didn't know the scientific name then. Later in Shwebo the book was eaten away by white ants and I got my current photo-copied reprint version from the Bagan Book House in 1999 March at a price of 2000 kyats. Now that I know this orchid to be a Chilolschista I looked for it in the book, but couldn't find the genus listed there. My other standard reference A Checklist of the Trees, Shrubs, Herbs, and Climbers of Myanmar gives two species found in Myanmar:

This picture of C. lunifera looks more like my orchid, though the flowers are spaced more closely on the stalk and more numerous:

The following original drawing of C. lunifera is from Annals of the Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta, vol. 83: t. 276 (1891).

Internet search shows that C. lunifera could have variable coloring, for example, dark red, as well as lack of markings or with variable markings on the flower. So my orchid might be C. lunifera, but I am not sure. There might also be other Chiloschista species in Myanmar not yet recorded.

Chiloschistas or other little known botanical gems are gifts of nature to us. They are little known and cared because they are inconspicuous and their flowers are not showy nor they are being sought for medicinal properties. Because of that they may safely remain our ghost orchids and for Asia for a long time. However, locally popular orchid species and those known as good stocks for hybridization have been plundered for long. In more recent times we've heard of lifting truck loads of orchid plants to be illegally destined to "Big Country" for herbal medicinal uses.

Well, that will surely boost our list of real ghost orchids in addition to the couple of humble Chiloschistas we have for now!