AboutOrchids

It’s always a pleasant surprise to find stories in the news about orchids, and lately I’ve seen a handful about native orchids blooming in Britain and North America. This recent article from the Times of London provides a great account of how native British orchids are thriving this year. Although less well-known than their tropical […]

Here are some more photos from the tropical rainforest exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences. The first set shows 2 kinds of Epidendrums. With fragrant green, white, and purple flowers, Epidendrum paniculatum is a common species found from Mexico and Belize south to Brazil and Argentina. There are several color varieties of this species […]

The California Academy of Sciences, located in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, is one of the world’s largest natural history museums. Among the many exhibits, the museum contains a remarkable 4-story rainforest housed in a dome. Inside the glass sphere, a spiral ramp allows visitors to explore the rainforest, starting on the ground and heading […]

It’s not too late to register for the Native Orchid Conference, held June 12 – 16 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Run by an organization of the same name, the Native Orchid Conference highlights orchids from the USA and Canada. There are over 200 species of orchids native to North America, from California to Newfoundland, from […]

The Orchid Conservation Alliance (OCA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to conserving orchids in their native habitats. OCA supports numerous projects to preserve orchids around the world. With the backing of individuals, orchid societies, prominent scientists, and orchid vendors, OCA places emphasis on saving wild rainforest habitats. Some of the strategies of organizations supported by […]

The Native Orchid Conference (NOC) is a non-profit organization whose purpose, in its own words, is “to foster the study, conservation, and enjoyment of the native orchids of the United States and Canada.” These North American orchids are sometimes less glamorous than their tropical counterparts, but no less fascinating or beautiful. Ranging from Florida to […]

While we were visiting the Big Island of Hawaii, Dave and I took a trip to Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden. Located north of Hilo in a real tropical rainforest, the garden is a lush paradise of exotic plants from rainforests around the world, including lots of orchids. We spent half the day soaking in the […]

Besides saving whales and fighting corporate polluters, Greenpeace has successfully saved orchids and their habitats for decades. By working to preserve rainforests and wetlands, Greenpeace ensures essential wild spaces that orchids need. Over the years, their work has protected ancient forests all over the world, including orchid habitats in Brazil, Central Africa, and Indonesia. Greenpeace […]

Founded in 1989 in England, the World Land Trust (WLT) has been working to preserve the world’s most biologically important and threatened lands. So far, the WLT has saved over 375,000 acres (1518 square km) of wildlife habitats, including tropical forests, coastal steppes, and wetlands. Many of these habitats are orchid hot-spots, such as rainforests […]

As a regular visitor to Puerto Vallarta over the years, it’s exciting for me to learn about Vallarta Botanical Gardens. About 1/2 -hour drive south of Puerto Vallarta, the gardens were opened in 2005 in the coastal mountains of the Mexican state of Jalisco. Their mission is “the propagation, promotion, study, enjoyment and discovery of […]