Personally... I think that everything depends upon circumstances. I've been huggin' trees for 40 plus years and think that I'm quite conservation minded. But... There are no absolutes! I've seen vast areas of the Philippines, Java, Borneo and even my local temperate rainforests devastated by logging, cows and other intrusions! (BTW... I do also have cows, etc and a ranch, yet try to protect my watershed and the natives.) I just (today) walked several miles of irrigation ditch through old growth forest, vinyards, freshly logged areas and cow pastures. But, also... Fresh beaver dams, trilliums, Fritillaria and native orchids! Yet, no one even looks twice before hackin' or using a Cat to haul logs out! On one hand I was overjoyed with every new plant that I saw, yet I was also cringing at the ones with tire tracks through the middle! :~( If one knows what they're doing and it's either legal or there is a higher moral justification...! Do it, but be absolutely careful and make sure that you're doing the right thing. If it's for the future health and preservation of something, I rarely ask for opinions of professional tree huggers living in ivory towers in the city! No offense to most of you! ;~) Although I have lived in cities, I actually live with the trees that I like to hug! If it's just for you're own private collection and pleasure... Well, that's rather different and you'd likely be wrong to move natives! Granted, many countries and cultures have there own standards and considerations. Go with what you think is best for the future as a whole! :~) Also,(as I reread) knowing little about Vandas as I'm not into them, isn't Vanda Miss Joaquim a hybrid anyway and Singapore's national flower?? Not exactly one of your native orchids?? My feelings are that it shouldn't be encourage to naturalize there anyway. I'm sure that you have plenty of indigenous orchids that could use the growing space and resources! So many of the concerns are sorta' moot! Just pull the sucker out, get all of it and make sure that it stays cultivated and doesn't spread locally anymore! :~) Scott climbs down off his pedestal and walks away mumbling about people protecting invasives...

How was it? Nick

Hi papersailor and thanks for the pic's. It's really great to see any plant growing in it's natural habitat. I once saw a massive colony of Calanthe triplicata in full flower. Unfortunately, a short time later the bull-dozers cleared the whole area for timber and the lot was gone for ever. It's certainly a memory that will stay with me for the rest of my life. Thanks for sharing; all the best, Nev

I suppose if you are interested in orchids and species orchids etc., you'd find this orchid interesting BUT for me the uninterested orchid person, it's not a real impressive plant. The flowers are very tiny and the plant only seems to put out 2 leaves, so it doesn't do much in the garden. I have no idea how the seeds are dispersed and whether birds carry them, but it seems like the whole pod opens in one area and lots of little orchids pop up. I have been battling this plant for years. While it's easy to pull out, if you don't get all of the thick root, it starts growing again - and don't try and compost it, cause after you pull it, it'll just grow where you threw it.