Baekunnan (Vexillabium Yakushimense), a Globally Rare Orchid, Reveals Its Modest Shape in Gayasan Mountain, Chungnam

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Baekunnan discovered in Gayasan Mountain in Yesan, Chungcheongnam-do. Courtesy of Chungcheongnam-do

The baekunnan (Vexillabium yakushimense (Yamam) F. Maek.) is a small and modest orchid that blooms a white flower. But it is extremely rare, which is why it is protected as an endangered species internationally as well as in South Korea.

This rare baekunnan was discovered in Gayasan Mountain located in Yesan, Chungcheongnam-do.

The Chungcheongnam-do Forest Resources Research Institute announced on July 26 that they discovered the baekunnan, an endangered species in the Gayasan Mountain Provincial Park and is currently protecting the orchids. A representative of the research institute said, “We found ten baekunnan sprouts more than halfway up the Yesan side of Gayasan Mountain.”

Baekunnan discovered in Gayasan Mountain in Yesan, Chungcheongnam-do. Courtesy of Chungcheongnam-do

Baekunnan is an orchid that the Korean Ministry of Environment designated as a class-2 endangered wild species and that the International Union for Conservation of Nature designated as “critically endangered.” This means there is an extremely small population of the species throughout the world.

Baekunnan is a perennial plant of the orchid family. It grows on rotting plants in the shaded forest.

What’s unique about this orchid is that its roots grow from the stem and extend sideways. The orchid is small, and its brown body only grows 4-6 cm tall. It grows 3-5 flat leaves, which are dark green and only 1-15 mm long and 5-9 mm wide.

The white flowers come in bloom around August. Usually, the orchid blooms 1-3 flowers and later they bear oval-shaped fruit that turn red when ripe.

The distribution of the baekunnan is similar to the distribution of the eureum orchid (cyrtosia septentrionalis), which is also a class-2 endangered wild plant, but its natural habitat is more restricted and the small size of the plant makes it extremely difficult to discover.

In South Korea, the orchid is known to grow in only about a dozen locations including Baekunsan Mountain in Jeollanam-do, Gangwondo, and Ulleung-do, but such habitats continue to disappear.

Seo Do-won, director of the Chungcheongnam-do Forest Resources Research Institute said, “We will regularly monitor the plants and design measures to prevent any damage to the habitats to protect the baekunnan in Gayasan Mountain.”