What a concept! Also there were several articles about how people traded
paphs across international borders with aplomb, CITES had either just been
enacted or was about to be enacted. Made me very jealous.


We used to bring in about 200-300 paphs a year from Thailand until the CITES
ban went into effect. It was said at the time that European collectors stripped
complete sites and sold callosums and other species as pot plants which were
thrown out after they flowered, not unlike Home Depot and Lowes plants.

At the Eastern Orchid Congress held in King of Prussia Pa in the early 80's,
before CITES, Chester Kawacomi from South River Orchids was selling
bellatulums, concolors, niveums and other species bare root for $5.00 each.
They were piled two and three feet high and when there was room he just opened
another carton and tossed them onto the tables. He must have sold two or three
thousand during the show.