Three unique hybrid orchids developed by the Kaohsiung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station have won four prizes at an international orchid show in Taiwan for their exotic appearance and fragrance.
The moth orchid is treasured for its beauty and Taiwan's most exported orchid, but Weng I-szu (翁一司), an assistant research fellow at the Kaohsiung research station, said it generally lacks fragrance.
The few breeds of moth orchid that are fragrant have small petals and cannot satisfy the commercial requirement of at least 10 flowers per stem, Weng said.
So the Kaohsiung research station decided to introduce the gene of the highly fragrant foxtail orchid into the moth orchid using technology that only Taiwan has to develop the hybrids combining the best of the two breeds.
The results earned honors at the 2019 Taiwan International Orchid Show in Tainan that runs until March 11.