Orchid black market: '£150,000 for one plant'

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Amy Hinsley, who is studying for a PHD in the Orchid trade, said she saw a legal plant at a show in Tokyo for £9,500 and has heard of "black market, slightly under the table deals" with plants up to £150,000. Jim Durrant, one of the most successful Orchid breeders, said they are "very devious" and the "most intelligent of any plants" because they impersonate bees in order to encourage pollination. On April 9 when the European Orchid Conference and Show opened in London Dan Damon visited the Royal Horticultural Halls in Chelsea.