Variety Characteristics and Care Methods of Daruma Cymbidium sinense

   The origins of the famous Daruma orchid have long been a topic of discussion and research in orchid circles. After carefully and thoroughly consulting various published orchid magazines, it was found that issue No. 139 of "Chinese Orchid Magazine," the May 1993 issue, contained an article titled "The Origins of the Famous Orchids of the Daruma and Rulai Families," written by Mr. Xu Wenfu; in addition, issue No. 108 of the Guolan Tiandi magazine, also the May 1993 issue, carried an article with identical content and title, but the author was listed as Mr. Xu Wenfu (Xu Wenfu). Whether the two Mr. Xu are the same person is unknown! The content describes in detail that the place of origin of "Daruma" is in the Lishan mountain area of Zhuoxi Township, Hualien County, located in Sanmin Village, Yuli Township, Hualien; entering from the Lishan checkpoint requires 40 minutes by motorcycle and then a 30-minute walk, passing through "Banana Mountain" and then continuing on to another mountain area, where the Daruma and Rulai were collected at the mountainside; the collector was Mr. Xu Musheng, and the collection date was during the 60th year of the Republic of China era (1971 AD). Mr. Xu lived in Yuli Township, Hualien. At that time he collected three dwarfed Cymbidium sinense shoots that already bore variegation patterns (striped variegation), which were later all purchased by Mr. Liu Jiancheng, a retired employee of Taiwan Power Company, and resold to Mr. Chen Guolin of Beitou; the full transaction amounts were recorded. Therefore it can be inferred that the person, event, and place are all described in detail, and the credibility is quite high. As for what other magazines and special issues record, it is also not wrong that Daruma originates in eastern Taiwan Province, but there are different accounts of the collection date; some indicate the 58th or 59th year, and some indicate the 62nd year of the Republic of China era. In short, it is difficult to personally visit the original collector, so it may as well be believed that Mr. Xu's account of the 60th year of the Republic of China era is acceptable. The naming of the famous Daruma orchid should have an origin story: Mr. Chen Guolin, besides cultivating mountain-collected orchids, also cultivated ornamental palms; he initially named the mountain-collected dwarf orchid after the Daruma of the ornamental palm. Only later was it uniformly changed to (Daruma), and thus it became a famous orchid. In Japanese, Daruma means roly-poly toy, round, short, fat, unmoving when watered, with broad leaves, thick leaf flesh, plump and sturdy orchid material; it is truly subtle and apt. Descriptions of Daruma vary: "Gathering all the essence of Cymbidium sinense into one body, it is a national treasure-grade roly-poly toy." "It is the king among variegated orchids." "Daruma is registered as the most expensive plant in the world." "The transaction price was more than 20 million New Taiwan dollars (about 6 to 7 million yuan) per pot." Daruma orchids are uniquely favored and possess superior conditions; material, quality, form, variegation, and mutation, none are lacking; it is truly the ultimate variety sought by everyone in the orchid family.

    In the early period, Daruma was scarce, and many people sought planting material. It was not news for a single shoot of the green-leaf type to sell for over a million New Taiwan dollars. Later, green-cyan caps, partial claws, claw variegation, or variegation such as Kuwabara Akira all reached prices above a million. Regardless of Sanhe, Liuhe, Shihe, or striped variegation, transaction amounts all reached peaks; someone once exchanged one pot of claw-variegated Daruma for a high-rise building in Taichung City and made a great fortune from Daruma; others exchanged it for imported cars or land, and such cases were everywhere; Daruma orchids created many multimillionaires in Taiwan, and some people also suffered complete defeat and ruin due to failed buying and selling. In those years, Daruma orchids were the variety that orchid friends dreamed of, and cultivating Daruma orchids satisfied their wishes.

    During the 88th year of the Republic of China era (1999 AD), Mr. Jiang Bofeng and others initiated the organization of the Daruma Association. After much effort, it received an enthusiastic response, and at the end of May the "Taiwan Daruma Variegated Orchid Association" was formally established, electing Mr. Lin Hanrong as chairman. In the 90th year, the second term re-elected Chairman Lin, who has continued to the present: Mr. Lin Hanrong is enthusiastic about association affairs and actively promotes business. He has held three exhibition-and-sale events and three appreciation events, and participation in exhibitions in Japan, mainland China, and Hong Kong, China all received favorable reviews. In Taiwan Province orchid exhibitions, there is always a "Daruma Special Display Area." Promoting Daruma keeps the famous orchid's position in orchid circles noble and as stable as Mount Tai, standing firm and unshakable. Although prices rise and fall, the famous orchid is still the favorite in the hearts of orchid friends. The orchid circle celebrity Mr. Li Heping also once held a personal special exhibition in Taichung City with the famous Daruma orchid, causing a sensation in orchid circles and making its name; this shows that the famous orchid is never lonely. In introducing the famous Daruma orchid, there is "Daruma Special Issue" by Wu Senyuan, published many years ago. In the 91st year, "Daruma Special Issue" by Peng Shuangsong, a famous senior figure in orchid circles, was published. The content is wonderful, with excellent pictures and text; it is a very rare monumental work, leaving historical testimony for the famous Daruma orchid and adding a stirring force to orchid circles. Daruma orchids have already left a deep impression in international orchid exhibitions; they once participated in the Canada Flower Show and won the championship, are regarded as a "treasure" in the eyes of Japanese orchid friends, and are a "national treasure" in the eyes of orchid friends in mainland China, Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan, China. It has been more than 30 years since Daruma came down from the mountain, and the propagated quantity is considerable. Various variegation directions have appeared, but top and special variegation directions are still few and hard to obtain, such as true "treasure variegation," "brocade variegation," and "crane variegation," and standard "center-spot variegation," "center-clear variegation," and "tricolor variegation"; how many have good generational continuity and standard variegation direction? Some people think there is a lot of Daruma orchid material, and that is true; most of it is in green-leaf types, partial claws, claw variegation and initial mutations, as well as some unstable semi-finished products. True finished products are not many, and orchid friends still need to work hard to cultivate them. After a few years, perhaps "tricolor old-age treasure Daruma" or "snow-white center-spot and center-clear" may appear; and it is hoped that "golden-yellow Daruma" and true "Taishan brocade-variegated Daruma" will appear. If variegation directions like the above appear, it is believed that creating another peak for Daruma will not be difficult; more than ten million New Taiwan dollars per shoot is not a dream. Things are precious when rare, and in the world there is nothing "impossible."

    The formal public debut of Daruma was in February of the 73rd year of the Republic of China era (1984 AD) at the Taipei Citizens' Activity Center, organized by the Taipei City Orchid Association; in the early period, primary-grade plants with white lines and green line spots appeared, and afterward there was progress year after year; as of the 91st year of the Republic of China era, the variegation directions that had been completed included: green-cyan cap, claw variegation, striped variegation, center-spot variegation, center-clear, claw striped variegation, large top crown variegation, crane variegation, first variegation... and so on. Old varieties such as Xuhuang Brocade, Daxun, Ruiyu, Ruihuang, Yusong, Yanglao, Taishan Brocade, Ruiying... and so on all exist, but their generational continuity and stability still need time to be tested, because it is not easy for genetic genes to remain the same from generation to generation. Precisely because of this situation, everyone must work harder and wait patiently; there is still a long road ahead, the goal is correct, and we look forward to the ideal variegation directions arriving soon, and to the appearance of peerless famous varieties in orchid history.

    Daruma's descent from the mountain brought shock and excitement to orchid circles. Daruma has many variegation changes and especially strong mutability, often producing unexpected mutated varieties. It is a human-world ultimate variety very worth cultivating, researching, and appreciating. We hope everyone will cherish it more and carry it forward.

Daruma Claw