Circling the Globe with the Orchid Familiy

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Sunday, November 16th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed

Of all the flowers on earth, orchids are particularly fascinating. Not only are they beautiful to look at, but they often bring a bit of wonder and mystery with them. Although distributed widely, many can only be found in isolated or exotic locations–impenetrable jungles, the sides of volcanoes, mucky swamps, for examples.

Beginning quite seriously in the 19th century, orchid enthusiasts have devoted years and lifetimes to ferreting out as well as growing new varieties of these flowering plants. Although most orchids are obtained these days from growers that specialize in cultivating these plants, many of them being developed through hybridization, it is good to learn something of their origins in nature.

Orchids are herbacious plants encompassing tens of thousands of known species, with still more being discovered. They exhibit a startling range of color and form, which has contributed greatly to public interest. Master gardeners often delight in growing a wide range of orchids to demonstrate their mastery of the arts of cultivation.

Orchids grow everywhere in the earth except for the desert and polar regions. About 85% of species occur in tropical or subtropical regions, but this leaves a huge number that may be found in much cooler zones. In some parts of the Himalayas orchids constitute the most abundantly represented family of plants in terms of sheer number of species.

By far the greatest number of orchids occur in three large tropical belts:

Tropical Africa (including islands to the east in the Indian Ocean). These mostly belong to the genera (families) Angnecum, Bulbophyllum and Disa. Orchids from this region are not so widely cultivated as ones coming originating in other tropical lands, but Africa nonetheless has many interesting species.
Tropical Asia. This region, which covers Indonesia and other islands, along with mainland Southeast Asia, is particularly rich in orchid genera. Typical of the region are the large genera Dendrobium, Eria and Bulbophyllum and many smaller ones as well.
Tropical America. This region includes most of South America, along with Mexico and Central America. Isolated from other parts of the world for eons, this region has an especially large number of endemic genera of orchids, many of which include hundreds of species. Among the large indigenous genera are Epidendrum, Pleurothallis and Oncidium; many smaller genera found here also contribute more than their share to orchids that have found favor among cultivators the world over.

In the temperate zones of the southern hemisphere may also be found many orchds, though not in so abundant number as in the tropics. In southern Africa the Disa and Calanthe genera furnish a few species judged valuable to cultivation. Australia has a number of genera in common with the tropical Asia. Southernmost South America boasts many temperate-zone orchids, but they are unfortunately overshadowed by those
from the vaster tropical-zone part of the continent.

in the norhern hemisphere’s temperate areas, we should take note of the United States, particularly the New England/norhteastern region, as well as Canada. There you will find some 20 native genera, whose members grow particularly in swamps and other moist grounds. The most reknowned of these are the Cypripediuins or Lady Slippers.

Europe also has many native orchids, but undoubtedly the most famous and showy is the Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera). The Bee Orchid grows on dry or semi-dry turf, often in open areas within woodlands. Bee Orchids are common near the Mediterranean coast of Europe, and grows (albeit less abundantly) as far north as Germany and the UK.

Orchids vary greatly in how easily they may be grown, although for the most part they are not the difficult plants that folk wisdom would have it. The most complete guide to today’s orchid growing, many agree, is Orchid Care Expert by Nigel Howard, which is available to be downloaded online. Mr. Howard’s guide is a complete education in itself, suitable for the novice as well as those more experienced. Also, visit the Orchid Secrets web site, which has a growing database of articles on many facets of orchid cultivation.

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