Global Traveling with the Wonderful Orchids

Of all of earth's flowers, orchids are particularly fascinating. Not only are they beautiful to look at, but they often bring a bit of wonder and mystery with them. Although distributed widely, many can only be found in isolated or exotic locations--impenetrable rain forests, the sides of volcanoes, mucky swamps, for examples.

Beginning in earnest in the nineteenth century, orchid enthusiasts have devoted years and lifetimes to ferreting out as well as growing new types of these flowering wonders. Although most orchids are acquired nowadays from growers that specialize in breeding these plants, many of them being developed through hybridizing, it is useful to know something of their natural history.

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. Master gardeners often delight in growing a wide range of orchids to demonstrate their mastery of the arts of cultivation.

Orchids grow everywhere around the world, excepting the desert regions and polar zones. About 85% of species occur in tropical or subtropical regions, but this leaves a huge number that may be found in much cooler zones. 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 mostly belong to the genera (families) Angnecum, Bulbophyllum and Disa. Orchids from here have not been as widely cultivated as ones originating from the other tropical zones, but Africa nevertheless boats many species of interest.
• 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. The region is made up of Mexico, the Central American nations, and the tropical part of South America. Isolated from the rest of the world for millennia, this region contains an unusually high number of indigenous orchid genera, many of which contain hundreds of individual 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 has a number of genera in common with the tropical Asia. Southernmost South America boasts many temperate-zone orchids, but they are unfortunately overshadowed by those
from the vaster tropical-zone part of the continent.

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 you will find some 20 native genera, whose members grow particularly in swamps and other moist grounds. The most famous 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 differ greatly in the ease with which they may be cultivated, although by and large they are not the difficult plants that common wisdom would have it. The most up-to-date guide to today's orchid care, in the opinion of many, is Orchid Care Expert by Nigel Howard, which can be downloaded online. Howard's clearly written guide will provide a thorough immersion in the subject. Also, check out the Orchid Secrets web site, which has an ever-growing database of information on all aspects of orchid cultivation.