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The Office of Indonesian Academy of Sciences (LIPI) at the Plant Conservation Authority (BKT) of the Bogor Botanical Garden in Pasuruan, East Java province has announced a new type of orchid on Java Island.

The report was jointly made by LIPI-BKT Destario Metusala and the scientist of biodiversity conservation at the University of Indonesia (UI) Jatna Supriatna and published in the international scientific journal Phytotaxa on 19 / 9.

Gallery Gastrodia.(Photo: Jakarta Post).

LIPI-BKT Coordinator and assignment supervisor Lia Hapsari on September 20 said : "The discovery of this new orchid is an invaluable gift for the 50th anniversary of LIPI's establishment on August 23".

Scientist Destario said the orchid Gastrodia is part of a group of holomikotropic orchids , often called "ghost orchids" by world scientists .

Mr. Destario said he and other researchers named the new orchid Gastrodia to designate its habitat. The scientist added that the orchid Gastrodia is an endemic orchid found only on the island of Java, especially in West Java and Mount Merapi in Yogyakarta City.

Orchids Gastrodia is part of "ghost orchid".(Photo: Jakarta Post).

The number of this " ghost orchid" has decreased because the habitat is destroyed. Destario scientist explains orchid Gastrodia grows in dark, wet environments and is often close to old and thick bamboo clusters.

Like other holomikotropic orchids, Gastrodia has no chlorophyll, so it does not take photosynthesis. These orchids also do not live in mistletoe.

Mr. Destario said: "The life of this orchid is based on the supply of organic nutrients through mycorrhizal symbiosis. Hopefully this discovery will enhance the conservation of biodiversity in future".