The largest family of flowering plants on Earth, comprising over twenty-five thousand species whose intricate co-evolved blooms occupy nearly every habitat.
Where it grows
Orchids inhabit every continent except Antarctica. About 70 percent are epiphytes, perching in the canopy of tropical forests; the rest are terrestrial, growing in temperate meadows, on rocks, or even partly underground. Andean cloud forests, Borneo, and Madagascar are global biodiversity hotspots for the family.
How to recognise it
Three sepals and three petals form the orchid flower, with the lower petal modified into a labellum or lip that serves as a landing pad for pollinators. The reproductive organs are fused into a single column. Many species have a long nectar spur, and some mimic the appearance and pheromones of female insects to trick males into pollinating.
Garden & cultural uses
The genus Phalaenopsis (moth orchid) dominates the global houseplant trade, propagated by tissue culture and shipped in finished spike from Taiwan and the Netherlands. Vanilla extract comes from the cured pods of a Mexican climbing orchid, hand-pollinated outside its native range because its specific bee is absent.
In history
The Victorian craze “orchidelirium” sent collectors into rainforests across the tropics, stripping habitats of rare species and driving some to the edge of extinction.
Find more flowers by letter
Orchid starts with O and ends with D. Browse other flowers along the same letter.
Flowers that contain a letter from "Orchid":