Welcome to Orchilibra

Home of the former orchid researcher Rudolf Jenny

Our dear husband, father, father-in-law, brother, brother-in-law and friend

Rudolf Jenny

July 26, 1953 – August 10, 2021

died completely unexpected after suffering a brain hemorrhage. He was buried on Thursday, August 19th 2021, in the presence of his family and closest friends.

It was Rudolf Jenny’s heartfelt wish that after his death his work would be continued by competent and dedicated hands. Therefore, his orchid legacy, including the library, the herbarium as well as the BibliOrchidea-Database, has been donated and transferred to Lankester Botanical Gardens in Costa Rica in December 2023, where it will be maintained and further developed by reowned orchid experts.

In loving memory of Rudolf Jenny and his values, Bibliorchidea will remain freely accessible to everyone.

For requests please contact the Jenny familiy here.

Rudolf Jenny

As a chemical engineer by training, Rudolf Jenny was working in the field of environmental and ozone-technology, where he founded his own company “IO3S” (2001) which he was managing passionately until his retirement in 2008.

He has been working with orchids for more than 45 years and owned a large collection of these exotic plants until 1995. Over many years, he has travelled the world with focus on southeast Asia, central and south America to broaden his profound knowledge on pollination ecology and taxonomy of orchids. He has published more than 600 articles in many of the world’s leading orchid journals and published monographs of the genera Gongora, Stanhopea, and Sievekingia as well as two volumes on the history of orchids and their involved collectors, amateurs, botanists and growers (…of men and orchids…). Recently he released his first book on the genus Paphinia, which was unfortunately also the last book to be published before his death.

Rudolf Jenny was a regular speaker on conferences around the world and owner of one of the most complete orchid libraries in private hands. He also founded and maintained BibliOrchidea, with more than 190’000 entries being the world’s largest and freely accessible database for orchid bibliography, covering about 90 % of the currently existing literature.

Roles and memberships

  • Research Associate Swiss Orchid Foundation, Jany Renz Herbarium, University of Basel, Switzerland
  • Secretary General and honorary member of the European Orchid Council
  • Board member of the Erich Nelson Foundation, Berne, Switzerland
  • Board member of the Foundation Orchidée, Geneva, Switzerland
  • Member of the Orchid Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society
  • Member of the International Orchid Committee
  • Member of the International Association of Plant Taxonomists (IAPT)
  • Honorary member of the South East Asian Orchid Society (OSSEA)
  • Honorary member of the German Orchid Society
  • Swiss Orchid Society
  • British Orchid Council
  • American Orchid Society
  • Australian Orchid Council
  • Hardy Orchid Society
  • International Phalaenopsis Alliance
  • Société des Orchidophiles de France
  • Pleurothallid Alliance (USA)

Publications (Books)

A variety of Rudolf Jennys Books are still available in the Shop. If you’d like to be notified about reprints, please sign up here.

  • Monograph of the genus Gongora Ruiz & Pavon, 1993 (ISBN 3-87429-332-7) out of print
  • The Stanhopea Book, 2010 (ISBN 978-3-905656-03-9) out of print
  • ..of men and orchids…, Part 1, 2015 (ISBN 978-9942-21-232-0) SHOP
  • ..of men and orchids…, Part 2, 2017 (ISBN 978-9942-28-312-2) SHOP
  • Stanhopea, species and hybrids, 2015, Supplementum to Orchids, the Bulletin of the American Orchid Society out of print
  • The genus Stanhopea, 1th part – S.anfracta to S.napoensis, in Caesiana, Vol.21, 2003 (ISSN 1123-5217) out of print
  • The genus Stanhopea, 2nd part – S.nigripes to S.xytriophora, in Caesiana, Vol.22, 2004 (ISSN 1123-5217) out of print
  • Orchids in the life of Auguste R.Endres (Carlos Ossenbach, Franco Pupulin & Rudolf Jenny), Vol.1 & 2, 2013 (ISBN 978-3-902421-77-7) available
  • The Paphinia Book, 2018 (ISBN 978-9942-30-7378) SHOP

Publications (Articles)

Rudolf Jenny wrote more than 600 articles in leading orchid-journals, another 50 in cooperation with other authors. The complete List can be found here.

Lectures (selection)

  • The subtribe Stanhopeinae, European Orchid Conference 2000, Copenhagen, Denmark
  • The subtribe Stanhopeinae, 17th World Orchid Conference 2002, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • Stanhopeinae, an old subtribe in new light, 18th World Orchid Conference 2005, Dijon, France
  • Genera of the subtribe Stanhopeinae in need of monographic treatment, 19th World Orchid Conference 2008, Miami, USA
  • Orchids without flowers?, European Orchid Conference 2009, Dresden
  • Reliable Orchid literature, European Orchid Conference 2012, Budapest, Hungary
  • Switzerland and Cost Rica, European Orchid Conference 2015, London

Other Activities (selection)

  • Chair Symposium “Orchids and Computer” at the 16th World Orchid Conference 2001, Vancouver
  • Chair Symposium “Orchids and Computer” at the 17th World Orchid Conference 2002, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • Chair Symposium “Orchids and Computer” at the 18th World Orchid Conference 2005, Dijon, France
  • Chair Symposium “Orchids and Computer” at the 20th World Orchid Conference 2011, Singapore