AboutOrchids

Madagascar is the home of so many fascinating plants and animals, and scientists have discovered even more orchids. Ten new Cynorkis species have been found in a remote area of northern Madagascar, including one with a champagne fragrance. Check out the story and great photos at The English Garden.

Chinese scientists have studied an orchid’s genetics to learn the secrets of its success. They’ve sequenced the genes of the species Apostasia shenzhenica, which is an early offshoot of the orchid family tree. Their study shows that important orchid traits, like massed pollen, tiny seeds, and the ability to live as air plants, emerged at […]

Duck Orchids, Bluebeard Orchids, Helmet Orchids, and more! Victoria, Australia’s weird and wonderful orchids are highlighted in this article with a great photo gallery. To learn more about fascinating flora down under, check out the Australasian Native Orchid Society.

The Orchid Conservation Alliance (OCA) is happy to announce that the Rainforest Trust is doubling donations for the Dracula Orchid Reserve, an important nature sanctuary in Ecuador. Every contribution will be matched, dollar for dollar. The groups’ goal is to purchase 1450 acres (587 hectares) in one of the planet’s most important biodiversity hotspots. This […]

The Million Orchid Project continues to return rare native plants to Florida’s cities. While earlier efforts have focused on Miami-Dade County, volunteers recently attached 250 endangered species to trees, or planted them in the ground, in Boynton Beach, making them the first in Palm Beach County. This ambitious experiment is based on a wildly successful […]

The Ram’s Head Lady Slipper is very rare. Typically, this small orchid species grows in isolated patches with only a few dozen plants. Cypripedium arietinum is native to alvar forests in the northeastern USA, the Great Lakes region, and from Nova Scotia to Saskatchewan. Recently, an Ontario quarry, wanting to expand, hired field ecologist Dan […]

The Philippines is full of fascinating orchids, and eight recently discovered species add even more to the country’s total. The article includes good pictures of the new flowers, which are all found on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. There are three new Dendrobiums, two Bulbophyllums, a Dendrochilum, a Glomera, and a stunning Thrixspermum.

Scientists at RBG Kew in London are warning that Madagascar’s native plants are in grave danger of extinction. The fourth largest island in the world is a biodiversity hot spot, home to over 11,000 plant species, most of which are found nowhere else. That includes almost 1000 orchid species like Angraecums, Jumelleas, and Oeoniellas. Habitat destruction, […]

Scientists have identified evidence of the oldest orchid fossil on record. Preserved in amber between 45 and 55 million years ago, a tiny gnat is carrying a tinier bundle of orchid pollen. “We probably shouldn’t say this about a plant, but orchids are very smart” laughed George Poinar, Jr., entomologist at Oregon State University, and […]

Its flowers resemble maggot-infested meat, and its scent has been compared to “a thousand dead elephants rotting in the sun.” Meet the orchid species Bulbophyllum phalaenopsis, which attracts carrion flies as pollinators.