Home
About Us
Bouquets
Orchid Plants
Seasonal Programs
General Information
Reminder Service
Corporate Services
Orchid Care
Order Security
     Send a free Virtual Bouquet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Orchid Trivia PC Orchids

Orchids are the largest flowering group of plants in nature.

There are more than 20,000 species of orchids, with the number possibly approaching 35,000 with new species being discovered almost every day.

Man has created more than 100,000 orchid hybrids (all officially recorded by the Royal Horticultural Society of England-The International Registrar) and there are thousands more that have been made but never registered.

Orchids are among the most ancient of plants and among the most versatile, having evolved over the centuries and adapted their growing habits to the changes of the environment through the ages.

The ancient Greeks believed orchids enhanced their sexual powers.

Charles Darwin wrote one of the first major works on orchids, ON THE VARIOUS CONTRIVANCES BY WHICH ORCHIDS ARE FERTILIZED BY INSECTS. It was written prior to THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES and many of its theories remain valid today.

Orchids are found on every continent except Antarctica and found in almost every color except black.

The largest orchid is Grammatophyllum Speciosum. It is native to Malaysia, Sumatra and the Philippines and can grow to a height of 25 feet.

The smallest orchids are from one genus, Platystele Halbingeriana from Mexico and Platystele Jungermannioides from Central America. A flowering size plant will fit on a thumbnail.

Vanilla is an orchid. The vanilla bean is a capsule filled with hundreds of thousands of seeds. The tiny dark specks one sees in vanilla ice cream are the orchid seeds. The use of vanilla as a flavoring agent probably originated with the Aztecs. The most highly prized vanilla among chefs is that from Tahiti.

While orchid growing for pleasure probably originated in the orient, in the western world the hobby began in the 19th century in Europe and later spread to America. During World War II, thousands of orchid plants were sent from England to the US for safe-keeping, dramatically increasing interest in both commercial and hobby growing. This, coupled with the advent of the ability to clone plants in the 1960’s, brought the hobby within the reach of thousands of orchid fanciers worldwide.