The Orchid Family

The orchid family (aka Orchidaceae) is the largest plant family in the world. There are over 30,000 different species of orchids and they are found on every continent except Antarctica (see the map below for the orchid's range). Because they are one of oldest flowering plant families, they have had considerable time to diversify in order to attract a wide variety of pollinators and to grow in many differing climes. The result is one of the most diverse plant families in nature. Orchids can have foliage that looks like grass, or like cacti or like variegated tropical houseplants and their flowers range in appearance from elegant to bizarre and everything in between. We hope that this informational page will spur your enthusiasm about orchids as well as help you gain a greater understanding about the fascinating nature of the orchid.

Useful Links:

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Culture Information:
Charles/Margaret Baker Culture Sheets
Orchid Species
AOS Culture Sheets
Orchid Mania

Forums:
The OOS Facebook Discussion Board
Orchid Board
Slipper Talk
AOS Fourm

Miscellaneous:
Erik Hunt's Orchid Photos
Troy Meyers Flasking Services
Orchid Digest Magazine

What is an orchid?

There are a few things that distinguish orchids from other flowers:

One unique feature of the orchid flower is its modified sepals and pedals. Sepals are the part of the bud that house the pedals as the bud grows. In most flowers, the sepals are not important after the plant blooms. They simply rest behind or under the flower and aren't showy at all. With orchids that's totally different. The sepals of an orchid become part of the flower, often mimicking the pedals. The overall goal is to impress a pollinator into pollinating. Some mimic moths, others flies and yet others mimic bees. Many of these are seeking to trick the pollinator into believing it can copulate with the flower for its own reproductive purposes. The showy sepals don't just imitate mates to get pollinated. Some mimic other flowers that the insect or bird might get nectar from - and these often bloom slightly out of season from the flower the pollinator is looking for.

The lip is another unique feature of an orchid. In truth, the lip is a petal that has been highly modified. All of this modification is to attract certain pollinators. One Cymbidium orchid from China (Cymbidium serratum) is actually pollinated by a mouse that actually eats the lip. Most orchids don't sacrifice their lips, or any part of the flower, for the sake of pollination, but they can contain nectar. The orchid lip can be much more crafty than that of Cymbidium serratum. Instead of being eaten, many Bulbophyllum orchids have a lip that works as a trigger, flipping the unsuspecting pollinator into the anther cap (where the pollen is stored).

One large group of orchids generally known as "slipper orchids" has large pouch-like lips. Oftentimes these work to let the pollinator easily crawl into the pouch but because of small hairs in the pouch the pollinator can only get OUT of the pouch via one route and that route walks them right through the pollen.