By Samantha Goerling

Topic: Botany

Fri 31 Jul 2026 at 8:06am

Fri 31 Jul 2026 at 8:15am

Scientists are cloning a rare orchid.

In short:

Conservation scientists made a breakthrough to save a rare orchid.

There are only 30 orchids left in the wild.

What's next?

The first cloned orchid has flowered.

A rare plant may have been saved from extinction.

There are fewer than 30 orchids left in the wild.

The orchids are found near the coast in Western Australia.

The orchid's status is precarious, and all plants are fenced off.

The first cloned orchid to flower.

A team at Kings Park took a major step in securing the plant's future.

A new propagation technique was used in a laboratory.

The technique is called somatic embryogenesis.

Digby Growns is happy with the cloning program's success.

Over a thousand plants have been generated from a single seed.

Like the birth of a first child

It was difficult to conduct research on the orchid.

The survival rate of the orchid is very low.

One in 20,000 seeds will grow into a mature plant.

The propagation method was previously used for other plants.

Cloned orchids are growing in a petri dish.

The team thinks this will save the plant from extinction.

The first plant produced this way has flowered.

Bigger, faster flowering orchids

The team is excited about the bloom.

The orchid flowered in just over three years.

That's half the time it took before.

Belinda Davis is working to secure the future of WA's orchids.

The team can produce robust plants that survive better.

More research is needed on pollinators and fungus.

WA is known for its wildflower displays.

Each orchid has a single fungus that it uses.

The team needs to introduce the fungus to the orchid.

The team plans to use the cloning technique on other species.

Practice Listening