The Lovely Orchids
by Aurora Celonious
http://www.gtflowers.com
Orchids make up an enormous group of plants, with around
25,000 species, and perhaps 60,000 hybrids produced
artificially. Little short of a thousand new hybrids are
added to the collection each year.
The word 'orchid' comes from a Greek word 'Orchis' meaning
'testicle'. Theophrastos, the Greek 'father of botany'
coined this word. He was the head of the lyceum in Athens
and the successor of Aristotle. He led it for thirty-five
years, i.e. up to his death in 287 BC. He called it so
because he thought that the bulb resembled a testicle!
It is very difficult to give a description of the Orchid,
as there are so many varieties available today. In fact,
this is the only plant, which has so many varieties of
flowers. The common thing is that the flowers are normally
very symmetrical. They come in many colors and shades and
are very fragile. It is normally noticed that the African
variety is white flowered and the Asian variety has
multicolored flowers. Whatever the variety, the flowers are
very beautiful. Their shape, fragrance and colors vary
according to the type of insect or bird they wish to
attract.
The insect is encouraged to land on the lip of the orchid by
a variety of sights and smells. There is, for example, an
orchid called the Bumblebee Orchid that manages to both look
and smell like a female bee, and consequently passing males
cannot resist it! There is even a species, Bulbophyllum,
that gives off a smell like rotting flesh to encourage flies
to visit it and spread its pollen...
Orchids grow by various modes. Cool climates have orchids
growing with their bulbs underground while in tropical
areas they are attached to tree trunks. But they are not
parasites, as they take no nutrition from the trees. These
tree-growing orchids only attach themselves to trees for
support, and take energy from sunlight and are called
epiphytes (air plants). In Australia, orchids even grow on
rocks.
The orchid is not merely an ornamental flower. It has many
uses also. That is why it is so popular and is so widely
cultivated. A prime example of this is the Orchid known as
'Vanilla'. As its name suggests, this is the flower from
which the vanilla essence, the favorite of all pastry
chefs, is derived. This Orchid is found in Mexico.
The bulbs of an underground species of orchid are used to
make a famous dessert product in Turkey. This dessert is
eaten with a knife and fork and is called 'selepi dondurma'
meaning fox- testicle ice cream. When you admire an orchid
now, keep in mind these interesting facts.
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