SHINGU CITY, WAKAYAMA Prefecture, is the epicenter of Iwa Chidori (Amitostigma keiskei) distribution. Many flower types are found in the wild, including big flowers, white flowers, flowers with a single spot of color and those devoid of spots, as wellas those with faint masks. Additionally, different variations are found even among populations with single-spotted flowers or those with big flowers, contributing to the diversity found in modern intraspecific Ami. keiskei hybrids.It has been about 25 years since the Miyamoto family started hybridizing Iwa Chidori and we are now on our sixth generation. It appears there are many more variations in flower shapes and markings, and the big-flowered types have become the mainstream. Donation of valuable plant material by the elders, partly due to proximity to native habitats, has significantly contributed to the progress in breeding. While improvement is not comparable to that of Ponerorchis graminifolia breeding and a smaller numberof people are growing them, artificially propagated Iwa Chidori can be purchased for reasonable prices (with some exceptions). A quick Internet search will reveal that there are thousands of sites featuring these plants, a significant increase over thelast few years.
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