Tuesday, April 24, 2012

O/ABC Wednesday


 
O is for Orchidaceae

Orchidaceae, the Orchid Family, is the largest family of flowering plants.  It is a morphologically diverse and widespread family of monocots in the order Asparagales.  The Royal Botanical Gardens of Kew list 880 genera, and nearly 22,000 accepted species, but the exact number is unknown (perhaps as many as 26,000 species) because of taxonomic disputes. The largest genera are Bulbophyllum (2,000 species), Epidendrum (1,500 species), Dendrobium (1,400 species) and Pleurothallis (1,000 species).  The family also includes Vanilla (the genus of vanilla plant), Orchis (type genus),  and many commonly cultivated plants such as Phalaenopsis and Cattleya.  Horticulturists have also produced more than 10,000 hybrids and cultivars.

There are about 944 species of orchids endemic to the Philippines.

The name comes from a Greek word orkhis that literally means "testicle" because of the shape of the root.  Orchid was introduced in 1845 by John Lindley in School Botany. 

The Greek myth of Orchis explains the origin of the plants.  Orchis, the son of a nymph and a satyr, came upon the festival of Dionysios in the forest. He drank too much, and attempted to rape a priestess of Dionysios.  For his insult, he was torn apart by the Bacchanalians.  His father prayed for him to be restored but the gods instead changed him into a flower.  

These flowers were previously called Orchis, Satyrion, or ballockwort.

The world's richest concentration of orchid varieties is found in the tropics, mostly Asia, South and Central America; but they are also found above the Arctic Circle and near Antarctica.





Linking to ABC Wednesday

16 comments:

missmeggy said...

Mom and I both love orchids so it is such a feast for my eyes just looking at this post..thank you for sharing! :)

Leslie: said...

So So beautiful...a friend just a couple of weeks ago gave me a little orchid that I put on my mantle. I hope it survives me - with NO green thumb.

Leslie
abcw team

photowannabe said...

Orchids are truly lovely and do definitely have a mystical quality about them. Nice choice for the letter O.

Anonymous said...

orchids are really beautiful and the legend or myth behind it is fabulous.

Unknown said...

I love orchids! And wish I could keep them, but they usually die on me:(

Carver said...

Outstanding post. I enjoyed the information and photographs. I love orchids. Carver, ABC Wed. Team

Anonymous said...

i wish i could smell them

organize

Roger Owen Green said...

LOVE orchids - can't explain why
ROG, ABC Wednesday team

Chubskulit Rose said...

Beautiful orchids. I have no luck with it, the one I tried last year died.

O is for....
Rose, ABC Wednesday Team

Jama said...

Beautiful orchids!

Reader Wil said...

I love orchids, but they never survive in my house. But I have a friend who has the most beautiful flowering orchids. I don't know what she does to keep them alive.

Reader Wil said...

I love orchids but they all die in my house. Your array of orchids is great! Have a great week.

Melbourne Australia Photos said...

Lovely photos of these beautiful orchids, Miranda!

EG CameraGirl said...

The orchid family is truly amazing and diverse.

Mildred said...

Gorgeous orchids!
Love them!
I've got 3 at home and they are in bloom now:o)

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

I need technical advice, when I try to post photos, most of the time, I get this.


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so many things remind me of when I was young. orchids grown by my parents.