Post by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Who wants a hot cup of... unsustainably harvested orchid tubers? Orchid tubers (underground plant organs that store nutrients and energy) are one of the main ingredients in salep, a popular winter drink that has been enjoyed throughout eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East for centuries. However, the origin and identity of the orchid tubers that have been used for salep over the past 200 years are largely unknown, making it impossible to monitor the overharvesting of vulnerable orchid species. Comparing pharmaceutical and natural history museum collections with 80 regional orchid species, scientists at Kew, Naturalis Biodiversity Center Nederland & Universitetet i Oslo (UiO) used modern DNA methods to analyse how tuber harvesting has changed over time. Published in Current Biology, the paper revealed that: 🌱 More species are being harvested for salep today than in the past, which is linked to longer harvesting seasons 🌱 Tuber sizes are getting smaller 🌱 Modern salep markets are sourcing species from further away 🌱 Specific orchids are highly targeted and at risk of future depletion Check out the paper to find out more on how the trade poses a threat to orchid diversity: https://ow.ly/x6M450YGnlK