Orchids on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean are pollinated by nocturnal crickets, according to scientists who took night-vision video of the flowers. It’s the first time an insect from the cricket order has been identified as a pollinator. The raspy cricket’s head is just the right size to reach into the flower’s nectar spur. — by T.A. Frail, Megan Gambino, Abigail Tucker and Sarah Zielinski – Smithsonian magazine, March 2010
The orchid family is not only the largest but one of the most diverse plant flowering families in the world. The orchid was one of the first plants to evolve on earth, it was around in the time of the dinosaur, over 120 million years ago. Given the length of time they have been around it shouldn’t be surprising that there are over 35,000 species with hundreds of thousands of hybrids.
The most famous orchid in the world is the vanilla orchid (planifolia). Coca Cola is the largest customer of vanilla, they use the seed for flavoring. Madagascar is the world’s largest producer. Orchids are very beautiful plants and that is why so much time and care is put into growing them. Vanilla on the other hand is grown for its commercial value rather than for its appearance but it is labor intensive. The vanilla crop is the main source of income for many independent farmers in less developed countries.
by Susan Taylor
Originally published in BellaOnline
The tallest freestanding orchid is Sobralia altissma from the high forests of Peru. It is reported to grow up to 44 feet or 13.5 meters high in optimum conditions. The bright reddish-purple flowers are up to 6 inches or 15 centimeters across and are displayed in spectacular groups of up to 8 flowers per stem.
by Susan Taylor
Originally published in BellaOnline
T
he worst smelling orchid is Bulbophyllum phalaenopsis. We picked this particular Bulbophyllum due to the sheer size of the plant and flower and
therefore the amount of scent it produces. Many other Bulbophyllums produce the same carrion scent as this one, but are much smaller.
Native to New Guinea, the pollinator is a fly which is attracted by the unpleasant odor. Last year, I found a live webcam of an opening
flower — the grower couldn’t stand the smell but wanted to see the flowers opening!