The magical world of orchids...
With an estimated 25,000-30,000 species worldwide, it is probably the largest flowering plant family, larger than the sunflower family (Asteraceae), grass family I Poaceae), rose family (Rosaceae), and legume family (Fabaceae) Furthermore, since the first artificial orchid hybrid flowered in 1856 in England, the number of hybrids registered is fast approaching 100,000 due to the high degree of compatibility among species.
Orchids occupy almost every conceivable habitat type except the oceans, from tropical cloud forests to seashore scrub, from tundra to semi-deserts. You can find them in the Andes and Himalayas, the Everglades, ancient Roman and Mayan ruins, even your own back yard.
Although they probably share ancestors with the lily family (Liliaceae) orchids resemble lilies about as much as the whale resembles its nearest living relative, the hippopotamus. Orchid flowers are some of the most bizarre and diverse on earth. They can be shaped like buckets, slippers, helmets, even flying ducks. Some mimic female bees or wasps so well that males try to mate with the flowers and in doing so pollinate them, a phenomenon known as pseudocopulation.
Orchid flowers come in virtually every color of the rainbow. Contrary to the orchids of fiction there are no truly black orchids; however, some are so darkly colored that they might appear black. Floral fragrances are equally diverse, from pleasantly sweet to most foul, from the essence of coconuts, to mentholatum, to rotting liver. While some are faintly exhilarating, others are potent enough to empty a room of people and pets.
Orchids are among the most evolutionarily advanced of all the monocotyledons, having remarkable specializations for pollination, water uptake and storage, and associations with specific fungi for nutritional needs, including those of seed germination.