LOC: madagascar pre-order

[naoki]

Louisiana Orchid Connection is taking the pre-order for their spring 2017 madagascar import. Open until Jan 22, we will be receiving plants in April sometime. More info here: https://www.orchidsforum.com/threads/madagascar-orchids-opportunity.17718/

Last year, I got a few, I would say that they are better condition than Malala import although my sample size is small (but don't expect them to be similar to domestic order). I talked to John and Tin, and they said that the travelling time from madagascar to the US is shorter. Also, they said the ID seems to be more correct.

Here is the link:
http://www.laorchid.com/collections/madagascar-sourced

I just went through the list, and managed to trim down to 13 items...

I'm not affiliated with them, and I'm just a happy customer.

 

[NYEric]

LOC is a hidden treasure! Really good source of uncommon orchids.

"I'm not affiliated with them, and I'm just a happy customer."

 

[Chicago Chad]

Thank you Naoki! They have some gems on there.

 

[JAB]

One to assume these are wild collected?

 

[NYEric]

WTF?!

 

[goods]

I'm not affiliated either, but I am local and friends with John and Tin. With that said, I may be a tad biased, but my comments are still true. I visited the nursery about a week after they received one of their imports, and all of the plants look great for taking that long voyage. The "dead" plants in this shipment looked better than some that I used to see come in from Malala "alive".

Also of note, Madagascar was almost closed by the CITES Committee at the start of this year, so if some of these plants pique your interest, get them while you can.

 

[naoki]

Zach, do you know any more detail about the new CITES regulation for Madagascar (a link to document or something)? Flora and Fauna of Madagascar is unique, and I wish there were some ways to protect them, but I understand that it is not an easy thing to do.

 

[goods]

Naoki, I never found a document mentioning a closure, but my information came from Chameleon and Uroplatus forum/FB groups and was backed up by Dr. Chris Anderson, who is a herpetologist with a chameleon focus at Brown University (I think). He also has made recommendations to CITES based on chameleon quotas I believe.

This was not a specific topic at the most recent COP17 but was apparently addressed there. Basically, the committee felt that the trade of teakwood and rosewood out of Madagascar was currently unsustainable and gave them guidelines to comply with by the end of the year. If they were not in compliance by the end of 2016, CITES could recommend "0" quotas for all Malagasy species. There were a number of reptile imports from Madagascar in December and I've seen mention of the continuation of these along with imports of some caudiciforms (though these may not all be CITES species).

Seeing that, I would assume that they either came into compliance or no regulatory actions have taken place at this point. I do think Madagascar imports may become scarce again at some point in the future just based on how they manage their natural resources. Thankfully, most of the orchids that have been coming in are now being flasked and imports may one day not be necessary.

 

[naoki]

Thank you very much for the info! I'll keep eyes open about this issue. I'll also ask if my friend who works on cute mammals in Madagascar know something about it.

 

[goods]

It appears that Madagascar will remain open for somewhat longer: http://www.lexpressmada.com/blog/actualites/bois-de-rose-madagascar-echappe-aux-sanctions/