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The Beauty of the Orchid
by Aurora Celonious
http://www.gtflowers.com
Orchids have an infinite variety. There are about 25,000
species of Orchids. Add to that another 60,000 hybrids that
have been produced through artificial means and you have a
mind-boggling range. To this nearly a thousand new
varieties are added every year.
The word orchid comes straight from the Ancient Greek word
'Orchis' which was coined by the 'father of botany',
Theophrastos. He was Aristotle's successor as the head of
the lyceum in Athens, which he led for thirty-five years up
to his death 287 BC. The name he chose for the orchid was
inspired by the Greek word for testicle, which is what he
thought the orchid bulb resembled!
It is very difficult to give a description of the Orchid,
as there are so many varieties available today. In fact,
this is the only plant, which has so many varieties of
flowers. The common thing is that the flowers are normally
very symmetrical. They come in many colors and shades and
are very fragile. It is normally noticed that the African
variety is white flowered and the Asian variety has
multicolored flowers. Whatever the variety, the flowers are
very beautiful. Their shape, fragrance and colors vary
according to the type of insect or bird they wish to
attract.
For this, the flower uses a variety of sights and smells.
The insects or birds are required to land on the lip of the
orchid. The Bumblebee Orchid looks and smells like a female
bee and this attracts are lot of its males. The
Bulbophyllum smells like rotting flesh so that flies could
spread its pollen.
Orchids grow by various modes. Cool climates have orchids
growing with their bulbs underground while in tropical
areas they are attached to tree trunks. But they are not
parasites, as they take no nutrition from the trees. These
tree-growing orchids only attach themselves to trees for
support, and take energy from sunlight and are called
epiphytes (air plants). In Australia, orchids even grow on
rocks.
The orchid is not merely an ornamental flower. It has many
uses also. That is why it is so popular and is so widely
cultivated. A prime example of this is the Orchid known as
'Vanilla'. As its name suggests, this is the flower from
which the vanilla essence, the favorite of all pastry
chefs, is derived. This Orchid is found in Mexico.
In Turkey they still make a famous dessert product that uses
the bulbs of an underground species of orchid. This sweet
food, that is usually eaten with a knife and fork, has a
direct link with the original naming of the orchid - it is
called 'salepi dondurma', which translates as 'fox-testicle
ice cream'....
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