Orchids are said to be as old as dinosaurs and have been around for over one hundred million years. Orchids are one of the most diverse flower types around and have an amazingly large plant family. They have been around for a long time and it's no surprise that there are now over 30,000 species of orchids and a lot more hybrids of this enchanting and exotic flora.
Did you noticed that the orchids look like a little "testicular"? That is how it's name was derived from a classical Greek "Orchis-an" meaning "testicle". Orchids grow all over the world, however, one most economically useful orchid can be found in Central America and Mexico. This orchid called Vanilla Planifolia lives up to its name as it is indeed the source of vanilla flavoring. Let's thank the Aztecs for figuring out how to get the vanilla out of the plant. The world's largest producer of Vanilla Planifolia is Madagascar in Africa and their biggest consumer is vanilla and Coca Cola.
Orchids have captured our imagination for centuries with the earliest pictures of rare orchids showing up in Asian art circa 700 BC. Many cultures have believed that orchids have special healing powers. Orchids were recorded in many documents of herbalists and medicinal documents. Even though orchids started out as strictly a wild flower that grew on trees, they have evolved as one of the most popular and beloved bloom of the flower world.
Rare Orchids and Charles Darwin
Orchids were the perfect flower specimen for Charles Darwin to study when he was formulating the theory of natural selection. He focused on the Angreacum Sesquipidales and documented its pollination cycles. He predicted that when this orchid species gave off a strong scent at night, the insect that pollinated it would be a moth, because of the orchid's bright white color made it look like a light in the dark. Sure enough Darwin's theory proved right a moth came along and was instrumental in pollinating the Angreacum Sesquipidales. Pretty cool the tricks of nature.
Reproduction
At last count there where over 35,000 species of orchids, this is because the different species have creative ways to reproduce (think about the moth magnet described above). Some orchids rely on crawling insects while some rely on flying insects and there are those that rely on the wind pollination.
Another clever use of flying insects is found used by the Bee Orchid. This clever rare orchid lures bees to its flower by its disguise. This Bee Orchid looks like the female receptive bee which entices the male bee towards its pollinia. Other orchids have long stems which look as they are butterflies when dancing in the wind. Again, pretty dang tricky of these orchids.
All in all orchids are ancient flowers that are even more fascinating today than at any time in history. Growing, cultivating, breeding and displaying orchids in one's home and/or greenhouse is a continuous source of joy for many people all over the world.
Did you noticed that the orchids look like a little "testicular"? That is how it's name was derived from a classical Greek "Orchis-an" meaning "testicle". Orchids grow all over the world, however, one most economically useful orchid can be found in Central America and Mexico. This orchid called Vanilla Planifolia lives up to its name as it is indeed the source of vanilla flavoring. Let's thank the Aztecs for figuring out how to get the vanilla out of the plant. The world's largest producer of Vanilla Planifolia is Madagascar in Africa and their biggest consumer is vanilla and Coca Cola.
Orchids have captured our imagination for centuries with the earliest pictures of rare orchids showing up in Asian art circa 700 BC. Many cultures have believed that orchids have special healing powers. Orchids were recorded in many documents of herbalists and medicinal documents. Even though orchids started out as strictly a wild flower that grew on trees, they have evolved as one of the most popular and beloved bloom of the flower world.
Rare Orchids and Charles Darwin
Orchids were the perfect flower specimen for Charles Darwin to study when he was formulating the theory of natural selection. He focused on the Angreacum Sesquipidales and documented its pollination cycles. He predicted that when this orchid species gave off a strong scent at night, the insect that pollinated it would be a moth, because of the orchid's bright white color made it look like a light in the dark. Sure enough Darwin's theory proved right a moth came along and was instrumental in pollinating the Angreacum Sesquipidales. Pretty cool the tricks of nature.
Reproduction
At last count there where over 35,000 species of orchids, this is because the different species have creative ways to reproduce (think about the moth magnet described above). Some orchids rely on crawling insects while some rely on flying insects and there are those that rely on the wind pollination.
Another clever use of flying insects is found used by the Bee Orchid. This clever rare orchid lures bees to its flower by its disguise. This Bee Orchid looks like the female receptive bee which entices the male bee towards its pollinia. Other orchids have long stems which look as they are butterflies when dancing in the wind. Again, pretty dang tricky of these orchids.
All in all orchids are ancient flowers that are even more fascinating today than at any time in history. Growing, cultivating, breeding and displaying orchids in one's home and/or greenhouse is a continuous source of joy for many people all over the world.
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Want to find out more about rare orchids, then visit Liz Porter's site on how to choose the best flowers for your needs.
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