Tripping with Orchids

Of all of earth's flowers, orchids are especially fascinating. Not only are they aesthetically pleasing, but their life stories often have a bit of mystery and wonder clinging to them. Although widely distributed, many can only be found in isolated, virtually inaccessible places--volcanic mountainsides, dense jungles, boggy swamps, etc.

Beginning in earnest in the nineteenth century, orchid fanciers have devoted years and lifetimes to ferreting out as well as cultivating new types of these flowering delights. Although most orchids are obtained these days from nurseries that specialize in breeding these plants, many of them being produced through hybridization, it is useful to know something of their natural origins.

Orchids are herbacious plants encompassing tens of thousands of known species, with still more being discovered.  They exhibit a startling range of color and form, which has contributed greatly to public interest. Gardeners often take pleasure in maintaining a wide variety of orchids to show off their mastery of the art of cultivation.

Orchids grow everywhere in the earth except for the desert and polar regions. Some 85% of all orchid species originate in the tropics or subtropics, but this still leaves a large number that come from colder regions. In some parts of the Himalayas orchids constitute the most abundantly represented family of plants in terms of sheer number of species.

By far the greatest number of orchids occur in three large tropical belts:

• Tropical Africa (including islands to the east in the Indian Ocean). These largely belong to the genera (families) Angnecum, Bulbophyllum and Disa. Orchids from this region are not so widely cultivated as ones coming from other tropical lands, but Africa nonetheless has many interesting species.
• Tropical Asia. This region, which covers Indonesia and other islands, along with mainland Southeast Asia, is particularly rich in orchid genera. Typical of the region are the large genera Dendrobium, Eria and Bulbophyllum and many smaller ones as well.
• Tropical America. This region includes most of South America, along with Mexico and Central America. Isolated from other parts of the world for eons, this region has an especially large number of endemic genera of orchids, many of which include hundreds of species. Among the large indigenous genera are Epidendrum, Pleurothallis and Oncidium; many smaller genera found here also contribute more than their share to orchids that have found favor among cultivators the world over.

In the temperate zones of the southern hemisphere may also be found many orchds, though not in so abundant number as in the tropics. In southern Africa the Disa and Calanthe genera furnish a few species judged valuable to cultivation. Australia contains many genera in common with the tropical Asia. Southern South America boasts a number of temperate orchids, but by the estimation of orchid devotees, they are greatly overshadowed by those
from the much larger tropical part of thecontinent.

In the northern hemisphere's temperate zones, we can mention the United States and particularly the northeastern and New Englad regions, as well as Canada. There we find about 20 native genera, whose member species grow mostly in swamps and moist grounds. The most familiar of these are the Cypripediuins or Lady Slippers.

Europe also has many native orchids, but undoubtedly the most famous and showy is the Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera). The Bee Orchid grows on dry or semi-dry turf, often in open areas within woodlands. Bee Orchids are common near the Mediterranean coast of Europe, and grows (albeit less abundantly) as far north as Germany and the UK.

Orchids vary greatly in the ease with which they may be cultivated, but generally speaking they are not the difficult plants that common wisdom would have it. The most complete guide to expert orchid growing, beyond question, is Orchid Care Expert by Nigel Howard, which is available to be downloaded from the web. Howard's clearly written guide will provide a thorough education on the subject. Also, visit the Orchid Secrets web site, which has a growing library of postings on many aspects of orchid cultivation.