In Defense of Plants devotes a fantastic podcast to Orchids for Peace. This conservation group was started by Dr. Tatiana Arias, a Colombian scientist who studies why orchids are so diverse. That’s an especially good question in Colombia, which is one of the most orchid-rich countries in the world. She began Orchids for Peace to […]
If you’re heading to the World Orchid Conference (WOC) in Germany next year, there’s a great chance to combine your trip with an orchid tour. The Orchid Conservation Alliance (OCA,) an excellent group doing essential work, is offering a tour in Greece before the conference. From March 17-24, 2026, the OCA presents a special visit […]
Download your free copy of A Guide to Building Ethical Orchid Collections and Societies. This digital book, which encourages conservation among orchid societies and individual orchid collectors, has been published in English, Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, and Indonesian. It addresses one of the greatest crises in the orchid world, which is the harvest of wild plants. […]
India is the most populous nation in the world, and also home to lots of orchids, from its tropical south to its mountainous north. As the country grows and develops, habitat destruction threatens biodiversity, including in the southern state of Kerala. Road construction results in trees being removed, with the loss of all the orchids […]
In Virginia, orchid biologist Melissa McCormick searches for the Small Whorled Pogonia, Isotria medeoloides. This endangered orchid is native to eastern areas of the USA and Canada. It’s a small plant with green flowers, it resembles other plants, and it can go dormant underground for years. Humans have a difficult time finding it, but for […]
Orchid poachers are one of the biggest threats to orchid survival. Private collectors who take plants from the wild, or who buy wild plants, can wipe out native populations. Social media has worsened the problem, directly connecting poachers and buyers. Viral fads can cause rare varieties to be completely wiped out, and can even jeopardize […]
The Western Prairie Fringed Orchid boasts showy white flowers standing on 2-foot (0.6 m) plants, but it’s not easy to find. Growing among tall prairie grasses, it blends in perfectly. Steve Travers, a biologist at North Dakota State University in Fargo, says “I have a hell of a hard time finding it sometimes. And when […]
If your idea of a dream vacation is to visit wild places with orchid experts, then you’re in luck. Orchids in the Wild Ecotours has lots of great trips planned for 2025. They include orchid hotspots like the Amazon, Himalayas, New Guinea, and closer destinations like Michigan. The tours are organized by the Orchid Conservation […]
The enormous orchid family grows larger all the time, with new scientific discoveries happening on a regular basis. Still, it’s surprising when a showy species is identified for the first time. Solenangis impraedicta has hidden in Madagascar’s forests, despite a 13 inch (33 cm) nectar spur. Growing from the back of a 3/4 inch (2 […]
Scientists from the UK, Latin America, Asia, and Australia have assembled the most extensive orchid family tree ever created. It’s part of a new study, which also finds that orchids first evolved about 85 million years ago. That means they shared the earth with dinosaurs for about 20 million years. Contrary to previous works which […]
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