"a wooded area in southern Ageo used to be dotted with rare orchids...
Not any more. The wild flowers' habitat was destroyed when the land ministry dug up the area to build a bypass. Among the plants growing in the thicket was the kinran (Cephalanthera falcata), literally golden orchid, which blooms from April to June. According to the Environment Ministry's red list of endangered plants, the kinran is designated as "vulnerable." The Omiya national road office, part of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, apologized for its "lack of consideration" and promised it would "act cautiously" in future. ... The problem was raised by Arakawa no Shizen o Mamorukai (association to protect nature in the Arakawa river area) in January. Despite the combined search efforts of the Omiya national road office and the citizens group, no kinran could be found. ... Between January and March 2005, ditches 1 meter deep were dug in which to bury 220 meters of water pipes. In November, soil from other construction sites was "temporarily" deposited there. According to the construction plan, the 20-kilometer Ageo bypass will connect two other bypasses. The area where the flowers once bloomed will be paved over. The Omiya national road office said that it had known nothing of the kinran's existence--despite the project being subject to an environmental assessment by Saitama Prefecture. The assessment was made in 1989, eight years before the ministry's red list of endangered plants was compiled. According to the citizens group, the wooded area, which had long been off-limits, was home to about 25 rare plants, including the ginran (Cephalanthera erecta), literally, silver orchid. The ginran is on the prefecture's red list." source : ********** regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
