AboutOrchids

The 30,000 or so species of orchids around the world have tremendous variations in their flower shapes. Some of them have shapes that are truly surprising. Others are so unusual that it can be tough to believe that they’re real. And some have flowers that are just plain weird. Here are some great examples from last weekend’s Pacific Orchid Exposition. I’ll call this first set of pictures the fish group, since I think they look more like sea creatures than orchids.

Each of these unusual flowers has evolved to attract a specific pollinator in the rainforest. A flower shape that may seem bizarre to us serves as the perfect lure to convince an insect to carry pollen from one flower to another. This specific relationship is one of the successful strategies that orchids use to survive in a competitive, densely crowded rainforest. Since bugs may see a meal in these funky flowers, I’ll call this set the food group. I see a piece of spiral pasta, orange caviar, and bunches of grapes.

Most of the orchids here require specialized conditions, and are for advanced growers. They aren’t commonly seen in cultivation, but maybe if they were, their strange shapes wouldn’t be so incredible. I’ll call this last set the bird group, and I think you’ll see why. I’m open to other interpretations as to what they look like, but you’ll have to agree that they’re amazing flowers.

Explore posts in the same categories: Events, Growing Orchids in San Francisco, Photos

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 11th, 2009 at 6:52 pm and is filed under Events, Growing Orchids in San Francisco, Photos.

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