ORCHID LOWER
In 1818, William John Swainson was collecting plants in Rio de Janeiro. He sent a box of tropical plants he had acquired to London. As a packing material he used orchids, which he believed were parasitic plants. Surprisingly, one of the orchids bloomed on arrival, and Londoners were astonished by the unusual shape and colors of the flower. That single flower triggered "orchid fever", which resulted in many deaths in pursuit of the plants.[1] However, there is some evidence that this conventional story about using specimens of Cattleya labiata as packing material is just a myth - Swainson actually saw exceptionally showy flowers of this orchid and understood its real value. And upon arrival to Barnet orchids were provided with proper care[2]
About half of the orchid plants sent to Europe did not survive the trip. The demand grew, the plants became more and more expensive, and the profession of orchid hunter was created. Orchid hunters faced tropical diseases, wild animals and poisonous snakes, floods, native indigenous nations , and often fierce competition from each other.[1][3]
In 1901, eight orchid hunters went to look for rare orchids in the Philippines. One of the hunters was eaten by a tiger, another had oil spilled on him and was burned alive, and five others vanished completely. The man who survived the ordeal collected 7,000 orchid specimens.[4]
Another group of orchid hunters in Papua New Guinea were captured and held hostage. Two members of the party were beheaded before Indonesian troops came to their rescue.[5] Colombia is said to be one of the best places to hunt for orchids, but it also used to be one of the hardest places to survive the hunt. William Arnold drowned in the fast and wild Orinoco River while on a collecting expedition; David Bowman died from dysentery; and yellow fever killed Gustavo Wallis in the Andean mountains.[3][4]
Albert Millican was both a painter and orchid hunter. He knew that hunting for the orchids was a dangerous business. He wrote about his expedition's supplies:
“ I provided myself with a stock of knives, cutlasses, revolvers, rifle[6]
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