Medicinal Use, Flower Trade, Preservation and Mass Propagation Techniques of Cymbidium Orchids—An Overview

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The manuscript submitted by Balilashakiet al. summarizes the utilization, reproductive and seed biology, and propagation of Cymbidiums. The topics described are interesting. However, I have found some issues as follows that need to be addressed and corrected.

Too few figures; only a few panels related to section 6.4. More figures related to other parts are needed.

It is not clear to me how to distinguish between the use of block and italic notations of Cymbidium in the text.

There are some errors in the description in lines 60-68. Who is the Shi-Kotei? The emperor of Japan or the emperor of China? Is he referring to Qin Shi Huang (259-210 BC), the emperor of the Qin Dynasty? Who is Yohki-Hi? Is it a reference to Gui-fei Yang? If so, they lived in different eras. And Gui-fei Yang had no children. Confucius is a Chinese philosopher, not Japanese. “Igansai-ranhin” should be correct, not “Igansai-ranpin”.

The writing style and English of the manuscript has to be checked by a professional editor.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer 1,

First, we would like to thank you for your work on our manuscript and your helpful suggestions. We have made some changes in the text as a result. For your convenience, all changes have been highlighted in the manuscript using the Word editing option MS so that you can easily find all corrections according to your and another reviewer's comments.

Point 1: Too few figures; only a few panels related to section 6.4. More figures related to other parts are needed.

Response 1: According to the above note, done.

Point 2: It is not clear to me how to distinguish between the use of block and italic notations of Cymbidium in the text.

Response 2: We have changed all Cymbidium to normal type, except for scientific names (including genus and species).

Point 3: There are some errors in the description in lines 60-68. Who is the Shi-Kotei? The emperor of Japan or the emperor of China? Is he referring to Qin Shi Huang (259-210 BC), the emperor of the Qin Dynasty? Who is Yohki-Hi? Is it a reference to Gui-fei Yang? If so, they lived in different eras. And Gui-fei Yang had no children. Confucius is a Chinese philosopher, not Japanese. “Igansai-ranhin” should be correct, not “Igansai-ranpin”.

Response 3: Since name and relationship are not important, we deleted them.

Thank you again for your help and suggestions, which have undoubtedly improved the readability and clarity of our text.

Yours sincerely,

Authors

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Review report : Medicinal Use, Flower Trade, Preservation and Mass Propagation Techniques of Cymbidium Orchids - an Overview

Overall, in the introduction the authors failed to provide a clear and concise overview of the genus Cymbidium and its characteristics. The introduction includes relevant information such as the number of species, their flowering season, and their distribution across different regions, yet some important information are still missing. The introduction must summarize briefly all the chapters treated within the manuscript, and the goals of the review must be clear and concise for all readers. The introduction could benefit from a sentence or two that provides some background on the importance of Cymbidium orchids, such as their economic value, their use in traditional medicine, and their conservation status. This would help contextualize the rest of the paper and make it more engaging for readers. including some pictures of Cymbidium species is highly appreciated.

Questions to answer on the two important chapters of the review:

Chapter 3: Floristic significance of Cymbidiums

1. Can you provide more specific information on the floristic significance of each of the Cymbidium species mentioned?
2. Can you provide data or statistics to support the claim that Cymbidium species are among the top ten commercial orchids?
3. How do Cymbidium hybrids compare in terms of commercial value and demand to the natural species?
4. What are the ecological impacts of the commercial cultivation and trade of Cymbidium species and their hybrids?

Chapter 4: Reproductive Biology in Cymbidium

1. The article mentions that the molecular mechanisms controlling flowering in Cymbidium are just emerging. How significant is the contribution of this study to the understanding of these mechanisms?
2. In the section about fertilizer and environmental factors, the article cites several studies, but it's not clear how these studies relate to each other. Can you provide a more cohesive narrative that connects these studies and explains their implications for Cymbidium cultivation?
3. The article mentions that four types of pollination are known in Cymbidium, but only describes two of them. What are the other two types, and how do they differ from the ones that were described?
4. The article mentions that genetic engineering is a potential approach to manipulating the switch from vegetative to reproductive stage in Cymbidium. Can you discuss the feasibility and ethical implications of this approach, given the limited knowledge of the molecular mechanisms involved in flowering?
5. The article cites several studies that demonstrate the effects of different environmental factors on Cymbidium flowering. However, it's not clear how these findings can be applied in practice. Can you provide more concrete recommendations for growers who want to optimize their Cymbidium cultivation based on these studies?

The authors are invited to respect Horticulturae's authors guidelines. No need to insert the figure at the end of the document.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer 2,

First, we would like to thank you for your work on our manuscript and your helpful suggestions. We have made some changes in the text as a result. For your convenience, all changes have been highlighted in the manuscript using the Word editing option MS so that you can easily find all corrections according to your and another reviewer's comments.

Point 1: Overall, in the introduction the authors failed to provide a clear and concise overview of the genus Cymbidium and its characteristics. The introduction includes relevant information such as the number of species, their flowering season, and their distribution across different regions, yet some important information are still missing. The introduction must summarize briefly all the chapters treated within the manuscript, and the goals of the review must be clear and concise for all readers. The introduction could benefit from a sentence or two that provides some background on the importance of Cymbidium orchids, such as their economic value, their use in traditional medicine, and their conservation status. This would help contextualize the rest of the paper and make it more engaging for readers. including some pictures of Cymbidium species is highly appreciated.

Response 1. The authors have attempted to refer to the above parts separately and with specific titles to allow readers quicker access to the content. However, due to the above objections, some content has been included in the introductory section.

Chapter 3: Floristic significance of Cymbidiums

Point 2: Can you provide more specific information on the floristic significance of each of the Cymbidium species mentioned? Yes, we can, It is good idea but due to lack time and limitiation in number of paper pages it isnt possible for us.

Response 2. Yes, we can, it is a good idea, but for lack of time and because of the limited number of paper pages it is not possible for us.

Point 3: Can you provide data or statistics to support the claim that Cymbidium species are among the top ten commercial orchids?

Response 3. Among orchids, Cymbidium ranks first, accounting for 2.7% of total cut flower production in floriculture. The authors have recently added the above data to the article. 

Point 4: How do Cymbidium hybrids compare in terms of commercial value and demand to the natural species?

Response 4. All commercial Cymbidium hybrids are not naturally fragrant. The newly developed hybrids are moderately fragrant.

Point 5: What are the ecological impacts of the commercial cultivation and trade of Cymbidium species and their hybrids?

Response 5. Undoubtedly, the commercial cultivation of this plant and the use of hybrid cultivars will lead to the displacement of native species and the reduction of genetic diversity and gene pool, despite the advantages of a cultivated variety.

Chapter 4: Reproductive Biology in Cymbidium

Point 6: The article mentions that the molecular mechanisms controlling flowering in Cymbidium are just emerging. How significant is the contribution of this study to the understanding of these mechanisms?

Response 6. There are several molecular methods to identify and link between the controlling genes and a physiological or morphological response, in this context can be mentioned techniques such as gene silencing, gene deletion and mutation or the use of the interaction of the genes involved.

Point 7: In the section about fertilizer and environmental factors, the article cites several studies, but it's not clear how these studies relate to each other. Can you provide a more cohesive narrative that connects these studies and explains their implications for Cymbidium cultivation?

Response 7. Done, we tried to link sentences with similar content.

Point 8: The article mentions that four types of pollination are known in Cymbidium, but only describes two of them. What are the other two types, and how do they differ from the ones that were described?

Response 8. Four types of pollination are known in Cymbidium orchids: autonomous self-pollination, reward-based pollination, generalized food deception, and Batesian mimicry of the food source [28].

To date, autonomous self-pollination has been described in Cym. macrorhizon, Cym. nipponicum, and Cym. nagifolium Masam, all of which lack a rostellum that acts as a physical barrier between anthers and stigma [29]. In Cym. mandidum, pollination occurs by reward. The flowers are pollinated by the stingless bee Trigona kockingsi Cockerell. which collects viscous substance on the labellar surface [30]. The substance is probably used as nest building material. A similar mode is also thought to occur in Cym. lowianum, in which the labellar surface has proteinaceous papillae that may function as food hairs [31]. In some species, including C. lancifolium [32], Cym. goeringii Reichenbach Ill. [33] and Cym. kanran [33], a general feeding illusion has been observed. The nectarless flowers attract pollinating bees by visual and olfactory stimuli. Finally, a Batesian imitation of the food source occurs in Cym. insigne. The plant depends exclusively on the bumblebee (Bombus eximius Smith.), which also pollinates the nectar-producing flowers of Rhododendron ciliicalyx [34].

Point 9: The article mentions that genetic engineering is a potential approach to manipulating the switch from vegetative to reproductive stage in Cymbidium. Can you discuss the feasibility and ethical implications of this approach, given the limited knowledge of the molecular mechanisms involved in flowering?

Response 9. One of these methods is to increase the expression of genes involved in the synthesis of proteins at the flowering stage. Also, the expression of genes that affect the transfer of nutrients from leaves to reproductive organs is altered. Another method is the manipulation of genes involved in the response to day length.

Point 10: The article cites several studies that demonstrate the effects of different environmental factors on Cymbidium flowering. However, it's not clear how these findings can be applied in practice. Can you provide more concrete recommendations for growers who want to optimize their Cymbidium cultivation based on these studies?

Response 10. One of the most important applications of this part is the use and optimization of orchid culture in conditions of controlled planting and out of season.

Thank you again for your help and suggestions, which have undoubtedly improved the readability and clarity of our text.

Yours sincerely,

Authors

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

The submitted review article is designed according to the rules of the journal, but does not correspond to the structure of review articles. The chapter "Introduction" consists of three sentences, in which the same thing is repeated - l. 41 and ll. 44-45. This chapter should include a description of the objectives and goals of the review, but they are not in this chapter. Previous reviews on this topic are not considered. The main problems in this field of research are not formulated. The presented article is more suitable for a popular science journal, it lacks critical discussion of modern scientific articles on the stated topic.

According to botanical nomenclature, the authors do not correctly indicate their object of study!!!  Genus Cymbidium is written without "s" at the end of the word and in italic font. And simply plants can be written Cymbidiums (without italic font). The species names of representatives of this genus are misspelled. It is necessary to write "C. aloifolium and C. giganteum" and not "Cym. aloifolium and Cym. giganteum".

The presented article is more suitable for a popular science journal; it lacks a critical discussion of modern scientific articles on the stated topic.

There is a lot of repetition in the article - why the article has two chapters devoted to the same aspect - chapter 6.2 "Asymbiotic seed germination in Cymbidium" and 6.4 "Asymbiotic seed germination and seedling development"?

In chapter 2, "Medicinal value of Cymbidiums," the authors  discuss the history of the medical use of the genus Cymbidium in too much detail.  In some cases, the meaning of the narrative is lost - ll. 58-59 "There is an interesting myth from long ago surrounding the medicinal use of Cymbidiums." What was the myth the authors wanted to mention?

In chapter 6.3 "Ex vitro seed germination and symbiotic seed germination" the authors consider the seed reproduction of representatives of the whole family Orchidaceae, but not of a particular genus Cymbidium - references to articles 60-67.  In addition, the authors do not correctly cite the source.

Lines 349-351 "A study on the dependence of Cymbidium on fungi during seed germination and seedling development provides a means of understanding the role of fungi in the developmental process of Cymbidium [64]." However, in  here is a reference to a paper devoted to the seed reproduction of a very different orchid species - Coelogyne nervosa - 64. Sathiyadash, K.; Muthukumar, T.; Murugan, S.B.; Sathishkumar, R.; Pandey, R.R. In vitro symbiotic seed germination of South Indian endemic orchid Coelogyne nervosa. Mycoscience 2014, 55(3), 183-189.

It is not clear from which article Figure 1 is taken, the authors do not indicate it. Why does Table 1 show the results of the study of representatives of other families of familia Orchidaceae - cited articles 110-115, 45 et al.

The «References» is not correct with a large number of errors, it is necessary to format it according to the requirements of the journal.

The work cannot be published in the presented version, it requires careful revision and correction of numerous errors.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Dear Reviewer 3,

First, we would like to thank you for your work on our manuscript and your helpful suggestions. We have made some changes in the text as a result. For your convenience, all changes have been highlighted in the manuscript using the Word editing option MS so that you can easily find all corrections according to your and another reviewer's comments.

Point 1: - The submitted review article is designed according to the rules of the journal, but does not correspond to the structure of review articles. The chapter "Introduction" consists of three sentences, in which the same thing is repeated - l. 41 and ll. 44-45. This chapter should include a description of the objectives and goals of the review, but they are not in this chapter. Previous reviews on this topic are not considered. The main problems in this field of research are not formulated. The presented article is more suitable for a popular science journal, it lacks critical discussion of modern scientific articles on the stated topic.

Response 2. An attempt has been made to present in a short article many important aspects of this plant, but little attention has been paid to them, so that, owing to the limitation of its scope, it must be confined to a few explanations.

Point 2: According to botanical nomenclature, the authors do not correctly indicate their object of study!!!  Genus Cymbidium is written without "s" at the end of the word and in italic font. And simply plants can be written Cymbidiums (without italic font). The species names of representatives of this genus are misspelled. It is necessary to write "C. aloifolium and C. giganteum" and not "Cym. aloifolium and Cym. giganteum".

Response 2. Thanks for the above comment, it has been carried out. 

Point 3: There is a lot of repetition in the article - why the article has two chapters devoted to the same aspect - chapter 6.2 "Asymbiotic seed germination in Cymbidium" and 6.4 "Asymbiotic seed germination and seedling development"?

Response 3. According to the comment, it has been corrected.

Point 4: In chapter 2, "Medicinal value of Cymbidiums," the authors  discuss the history of the medical use of the genus Cymbidium in too much detail.  In some cases, the meaning of the narrative is lost - ll. 58-59 "There is an interesting myth from long ago surrounding the medicinal use of Cymbidiums." What was the myth the authors wanted to mention?

Response 4. It was corrected.

Point 5: In chapter 6.3 "Ex vitro seed germination and symbiotic seed germination" the authors consider the seed reproduction of representatives of the whole family Orchidaceae, but not of a particular genus Cymbidium - references to articles 60-67.  In addition, the authors do not correctly cite the source.

Response 5. It was corrected

Point 6: Lines 349-351 "A study on the dependence of Cymbidium on fungi during seed germination and seedling development provides a means of understanding the role of fungi in the developmental process of Cymbidium [64]." However, in  here is a reference to a paper devoted to the seed reproduction of a very different orchid species - Coelogyne nervosa - 64. Sathiyadash, K.; Muthukumar, T.; Murugan, S.B.; Sathishkumar, R.; Pandey, R.R. In vitro symbiotic seed germination of South Indian endemic orchid Coelogyne nervosa. Mycoscience 2014, 55(3), 183-189.

Response 6. It was corrected

Point 7: It is not clear from which article Figure 1 is taken, the authors do not indicate it. Why does Table 1 show the results of the study of representatives of other families of familia Orchidaceae - cited articles 110-115, 45 et al.

Response 7. We removed the irrelevant ones

Point 8: The «References» is not correct with a large number of errors, it is necessary to format it according to the requirements of the journal.

Response 8. All of them were corrected.

Thank you again for your help and suggestions, which have undoubtedly improved the readability and clarity of our text.

Yours sincerely,
Authors

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 4 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The manuscript presented is a review on the medicinal uses, flower trade, conservation, and massive propagation techniques of Cymbidium orchids, an economically important genus in the orchid family (Orchidaceae) that has  incredible medicinal and ornamental value. The work provides useful information on the research carried out so far, which elucidates the knowledge of various parts of this valuable species.

The following recommendations can be made:

Introduction:

This part is very short. In addition to the information about the distribution of genus Cymbidium it would be good to point out that is medicinal plant, describe its natural status and what kind of research has been conducted so far with species of the genus.

The text

-          In the title is cited: “Medicinal Use, Flower Trade, Preservation and Mass Propagation Techniques of Cymbidium Orchids”, and the “preservation” refers to storage? But, in the “Abstract” is mentioned that “…some orchid species in this genus are particularly threatened  by excessive harvesting, so conservation measures are needed. A number of enthusiastic  organizations (e.g., The Cymbidium Society of America, The Cymbidium Club in Australia, The Golden Gate Cymbidium Society, Alameda, CA, etc.) are dedicated to propagating, conserving, promoting …”, and in the main text there are no information in this regard. It is recommendable to give information about the threat and the measures that are applied for preservation of Cymbidium species at a separate point in the text.

-          Point 7 Clonal propagation of Cymbidiums should be a sub-point of Point 6 Propagation of Cymbidiums.

In conclusion, this manuscript is recommended for publication in “Horticulturae”.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer 4,

First, we would like to thank you for your work on our manuscript and your helpful suggestions. We have made some changes in the text as a result. For your convenience, all changes have been highlighted in the manuscript using the Word editing option MS so that you can easily find all corrections according to your and another reviewer's comments.

Point 1: Introduction: This part is very short. In addition to the information about the distribution of genus Cymbidium it would be good to point out that is medicinal plant, describe its natural status and what kind of research has been conducted so far with species of the genus.

Response: The authors have filled this section with content.

Point 2: In the title is cited: “Medicinal Use, Flower Trade, Preservation and Mass Propagation Techniques of Cymbidium Orchids”, and the “preservation” refers to storage? But, in the “Abstract” is mentioned that “…some orchid species in this genus are particularly threatened  by excessive harvesting, so conservation measures are needed. A number of enthusiastic  organizations (e.g., The Cymbidium Society of America, The Cymbidium Club in Australia, The Golden Gate Cymbidium Society, Alameda, CA, etc.) are dedicated to propagating, conserving, promoting …”, and in the main text there are no information in this regard. It is recommendable to give information about the threat and the measures that are applied for preservation of Cymbidium species at a separate point in the text.

Response 2: It was corrected

Point 3: Clonal propagation of Cymbidiums should be a sub-point of Point 6 Propagation of Cymbidiums.

Response 3: Done.

Thank you again for your help and suggestions, which have undoubtedly improved the readability and clarity of our text.

Yours sincerely,
Authors

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

The paper has reached a stage where it is deemed suitable for publication, as the authors have effectively addressed all the concerns that were raised. However, it is worth noting that the text needs to be extensively reformulated and refined to meet the Journal's guidelines.

Author Response

Reviewer #2:
Thank you very much for your previous comments that helped us improve this
manuscript.

We look forward to hearing from you in due time regarding our submission and responding to any further questions and comments you may have.

Sincerely,

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

Perhaps the authors have not uploaded the latest corrected version of their article.

Unfortunately, I do not see the corrections made by the authors that I noted earlier. Although in their response to my review the authors declare it.

In the chapter "Introduction" the figure was added, but there are no objectives and purpose of writing the review. No previous reviews on the topic have been reviewed. The major problems in this area of study are not articulated.

 On comment 2, the authors write "Response 2. Thanks for the above comment, it has been carried out." However, the article contains all the same errors - Lines 40, 44, 70-72, 78, 86, 88...

Point 6 - ????? in this version of the article Lines 328-330 "A study on the dependence of Cymbidium on fungi during seed germination and seedling development provides a means of understanding the role of fungi in the developmental process of Cymbidium [64]." However, in here is a reference to a paper devoted to the seed reproduction of a very different orchid species - Coelogyne nervosa - 64. Sathiyadash, K.; Muthukumar, T.; Murugan, S.B.; Sathishkumar, R.; Pandey, R.R. In vitro symbiotic seed germination of South Indian endemic orchid Coelogyne nervosa. Mycoscience 2014, 55(3), 183-189.

Point 7: ??????    "It is not clear from which article Figure 1 is taken, the authors do not indicate it. Why does Table 1 show the results of the study of representatives of other families of familia Orchidaceae - cited articles 110-115, 45 et al."

The work cannot be published in the presented version, it requires correction of numerous errors.

Author Response

Reviewer #3:
We would like to thank you for taking the necessary time and effort to review the manuscript. I think we haven’t seen your valuable comments the first time, we apologize for this mistake, which has been corrected in the current version of our manuscript. All the comments have been taken into account in improving the quality of the article. All modifications in the manuscript have been highlighted in red.

We look forward to hearing from you in due time regarding our submission and to responding to any further questions and comments you may have.

Sincerely,

Author Response File: Author Response.docx