Author: Aurora Celonious

Orchids have an infinite variety. There are about 25,000 species of Orchids. Add to that another 60,000 hybrids that have been produced through artificial means and you have a mind-boggling range. To this nearly a thousand new varieties are added every year.

The word orchid comes straight from the Ancient Greek word 'Orchis' which was coined by the 'father of botany', Theophrastos. He was Aristotle's successor as the head of the lyceum in Athens, which he led for thirty-five years up to his death 287 BC. The name he chose for the orchid was inspired by the Greek word for testicle, which is what he thought the orchid bulb resembled!

No exact description could be given for so many magnificent variations of orchids. The common feature of all of them is their symmetry about their middle line. The flowers are very delicate and come in every color imaginable. Among all the flower families in the world, no other family has so many flower types as the orchid. Usually the orchids of Africa are white while those in Asia are multicolored. Their appearances vary greatly depending upon the insect or bird they have to attract for the spread of its pollen.

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...

How orchids grow also varies enormously. In colder climates orchids tend to grow with their bulbs underground, but in warmer, tropical areas many orchids will be found attached to tree trunks. Though they fasten to the tree, they don't take any nutrients from the tree itself, so are not classified as parasites. These tree-growing orchids are what's known as epiphytes (or 'air-plants') and derive their energy from sunlight. There are even orchids, found mainly in Australia, that grow on rock.

Their beauty is not the only reason orchids are cultivated the world over. It is also used as a flavoring by pastry chefs throughout the world in the form of Vanilla harvested from the Vanilla Orchid that originated in Mexico. Orchids are also used in many other ways.

There is a popular Turkish dessert called 'salepi dondurma', which translates as 'fox-testicle ice cream'.... This meaning is very similar to the meaning of Orchids. It is eaten with a fork and knife and you must have guessed what it is made of. It is made of the bulbs of an underground species of the Orchid!!


Aurora Celonious is the administrator and delegate of GT Flowers, your one stop source for all your flower needs.  Find the arrangement you need at: www.gtflowers.com

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