A yellow orchid is among hundreds of exotic Chinese plants on show in a photographic exhibition at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. The orchid, Pleione forrestii, is named after George Forrest, the Scottish botanist who discovered it during a trip to China in 1906. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the only one of its genus that鈥檚 yellow, and remains a favourite among orchid breeders for that reason,鈥� says Mark Watson, who helped to organise the exhibition.
The plant, which grows mainly on rocky boulders, is exclusive to northwest Yunnan, on the Burmese border. Watson, who is co-ordinating the garden鈥檚 role in revising and translating a major compendium of Chinese flora, says that the garden grows 6000 collections of plants from China, specialising in exotic rhododendrons, poppies and primulas. 鈥淪ome of them are absolutely stunning plants,鈥� says Watson. The exhibition ends on 23 July.