Delicate orchid flowers are widely distributed in hot climates, and they mostly prefer damp places. However, there are a lot of species of orchids in the world, and they are very different from each other, and often so much that it is hard to believe that they belong to the same family. Some of them have successfully adapted to coexist with other plants and trees, practically parasitizing them, while others stubbornly continue to survive on their own. Many of the most expensive flowers in the world, by the way, are related to orchids.
Interesting facts about orchids
- Currently, more than 25,000 orchid species are known, and scientists are finding more and more species from time to time.
- Orchids, unlike most flowers, do not cause allergies. The aroma of orchids is very diverse: from the most delicate aromas with hints of honey and vanilla to the smell of rotten meat.
- Some orchids grow on trees, using them as a support, others live on sheer cliffs, taking root in cracks between stones, and there are orchids that live underground – they are pollinated not by bees at all, but by underground animals (interesting facts about bees).
- Some species of orchids that require pollination by bees and flies have adapted to imitate almost exact copies of the females of these insects, as well as emit scents that attract males.
- Orchids are one of the oldest plant families , which arose on the planet about 145 million years ago.
- Orchids are striking in their diversity and manage to grow all over the Earth, with the exception of Antarctica.
- Some types of orchids are predators, they feed on small insects.
- The smallest flower is found in the orchid species Platystele jungermannoides – about 1 mm in diameter.
- Natural vanilla, one of the most expensive and sought-after spices in the world, is actually the pod of a type of orchid (interesting facts about vanilla).
- Some species of orchids live up to 90-100 years, or even more.
- The pollen of an ancient orchid was once found on a bee imprisoned in amber, which is approximately 15 million years old.
- The body of the largest orchid can reach 35 meters in length.
- Orchids belong to the largest family of flowering plants.
- Orchids are also widely used in traditional oriental medicine, perfumery and spices.
- The famous scientist Charles Darwin devoted a separate scientific work to the methods of orchid pollination, containing a lot of examples and details about the flowers that admired him.
- Up to 4,000,000 seeds can appear inside one orchid, which makes these plants leaders among flowers in terms of seed productivity (interesting facts about flowers).
- Cut orchid sprouts stay fresh longer in a vase than any other flowers.
- The most expensive orchids on Earth “Gold Kinabalu” bloom for the first time only at the age of 15 years. Because of their rarity and uniqueness, these orchid shoots are worth up to $5,000. This flower grows in Malaysia.
- The orchid is considered a noble flower, and this flower has been revered in many world cultures. In ancient China, for example, the word “orchid” meant respect and good quality.
- Alaska, oddly enough, has more types of orchids than any other American state (interesting facts about Alaska).
- The aroma of some orchid species is incredibly pleasant, while the flowers of other species can stink terribly, such as rotten meat.
- On average, about 250 new species of orchids are discovered or bred by breeders annually.
- Orchids are unusually tenacious plants, they can be found even in the tundra, on sheer cliffs, underground, in the desert, mountains, and even on the upper branches of trees.
- It is believed that the richest collection of orchids in the world can be seen in the park created for these flowers in Singapore – it grows about 60 thousand different plants of this family.
- Salep is a very popular drink in some eastern countries. It is made from the tubers of a certain type of orchid.
- In the entire history of the study of these flowers, breeders and botanists have bred about 250,000 species of them, but now there are ten times fewer of them, since the vast majority of hybrids remain unclaimed.
- In London, there is the famous Kew Botanical Gardens, notable for the fact that they contain a huge collection of orchids, and some of these flowers are already over a hundred years old (interesting facts about London).
- If count all the flowers on Earth, it turns out that orchids account for about 10% of their total number, counting artificially bred species.
- The flowers of some orchid species look like bees, others look like flies, and there are such that outwardly very much resemble the figure of a naked man.
- Orchid seeds are the smallest of all seeds in the world.