With beautiful flowers, orchids give us floral moments of happiness all year round. Reason enough to take a closer look at their unique properties. This profile briefly summarizes what characterizes the queen of flowers.
There are over 1000 genera of orchids
System and habit at a glance
The evolution of orchids began when dinosaurs were still inhabiting the earth 65 to 80 million years ago. As early as 500 BC, the first writings dealt more closely with the unique plants from tropical regions. Orchids have lost none of their fascination to this day. On the contrary, beauties such as Phalaenopsis, Dendrobium or Vanda are popular indoor plants. The following profile sheds more light on the exciting attributes:
- Orchid family (Orchidaceae)
- More than 1,000 genera with about 30,000 species and countless hybrids
- Mainly native to the rainforests of tropical regions
- Growth: epiphytes on trees (epiphytic), epiphytes on rocks (lithophytic), in soil (terrestrial)
- Growth heights from a few millimeters (bulbophyllum) to several meters (vanilla)
- Rhizomes, bulbs or pseudobulbs as storage organs
- Various flower forms with a diameter of up to 30 cm
- Flowering times from 1 day to several months
- Lush green, leathery to fleshy leaves with a smooth edge
Although 9 out of 10 orchids come from tropical countries, some species are native to Germany. These include orchids, Stendelwurz and forest hyacinths, which we can encounter on our hikes. The yellow lady's slipper orchid, which can assert itself as the only Cypripedium species in the Central European climate, provides exotic floral flair in German forests.
Mushrooms and orchids - a wonderful symbiosis
The microscopic seeds of orchids do not have the nutritive tissue that is standard in other plant seeds. In order for the tiny embryos to survive, they are dependent on a symbiosis with nurse fungi. By penetrating a seed, the fungal spores ensure germination and nourishment of the seedlings. This process drags on for many years. It is not uncommon for seedlings to flower for the first time after 15 years.
tips
Its status as the most popular houseplant belies the endangerment of orchids. In the wild, the unique flowers are threatened with extinction. Therefore, all orchid species are subject to nature conservation worldwide. Admiring and photographing is allowed - picking and digging up, on the other hand, is punished with severe fines.