, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London, to 10 March
A RAINBOW, jaguars, a pink river dolphin, a hanging sloth with vanilla on its belly, golden statues of El Dorado 鈥� and orchids, thousands of orchids. This year鈥檚 winter-busting festival at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, celebrates Colombia, orchid centre of the world and a country enjoying its new-found peace.
Kew Gardens has taken its annual orchid festival says Elisa Biondi, supervisor of the Princess of Wales Conservatory, which houses the display. She is right: it is a visual treat, with 6200 orchids carpeting the floor, and climbing and dressing the pillars in vibrant hues. To create a carnival feel, there will be Colombian music, food and dance in coming weeks.
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鈥淐olombian biodiversity breaks many records,鈥� says , a Colombian researcher based at Kew, who specialises in orchid evolution and genomics. As well as orchids, the country is world number one for birds, and is estimated to be the second most diverse place on Earth, after Brazil, which is seven times larger.
That biodiversity is reflected by a menagerie of sculpted wildlife throughout the conservatory. A pink river dolphin peers from a pool, while 1000 paper butterflies in the colours of Colombia鈥檚 flag hang from the ceiling. Then there is a full-sized, model condor, and realistically stealthy jaguars amid the flowers on a fake tree stump.
But the orchids are the main event: Colombia has 4200 species, over 10 per cent of the world鈥檚 species. A critically endangered orchid, Cattleya trianae (), is even the national flower. P茅rez describes Colombia鈥檚 mountains and forests as natural orchid labs, where variables such as pollinators and changes in climate have produced thousands of species in a relatively short period. Knowing the distribution and ecological preferences of the orchids, and how they relate, allows researchers to discover which variables affected the rate of speciation 鈥� or extinction.
鈥淢uch of the awareness of Colombia鈥檚 natural riches followed a 2016 peace agreement with FARC鈥�
The centrepiece of the festival is a pond with more delightfully fake creatures standing in for biodiversity. A toucan rises from the water, while a tapir sits on a small island. Nearby, a turtle is festooned with bromeliads, a capybara is bedecked with orchids, and the backs of spoonbills are draped in pink orchids. Hanging from a branch is a giant sloth, its belly covered in the vanilla orchid.
Elsewhere in the conservatory, reflections of Colombian culture owe much to Kew鈥檚 work with the Colombian Embassy, tourism body ProColombia and Colombian Londoners, who advised on which animals to include, and on festival foods.
Some of the nation鈥檚 industries are also on show: giant hanging balls in the shape of cocoa pods remind us of this key crop. Another corner shows the importance for indigenous people of bamboo for building, and for engineers as an option for semi-permanent structures.
The most arresting cultural artefact is a hint of El Dorado as three gold figures rise from another pool, amid yellow and gold orchids. These are inspired by the Muisca raft, a piece in Bogota鈥檚 Gold Museum showing the legend of El Dorado, the name the Spanish gave to a mythical chief of the Muisca people, whose initiation involved covering himself with gold dust and jumping into a lake.
Another stunning feature is Colombia鈥檚 鈥淩ainbow River鈥� 鈥� a sheet suspended from the ceiling, covered with Vanda orchids. This is based on the real Ca帽o Cristales river, which an aquatic plant turns multicoloured.
The river was little visited because it was in territory held by FARC, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Much of the new awareness of the nation鈥檚 natural riches and collaborations followed an opening up after a 2016 peace agreement with FARC. Currently, Kew researchers are on field trips in Colombia, hunting for plants, helping conservation and promoting sustainability. They may even find a new orchid.
