In 1897 London, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) hired an artist to document award-winning orchids in detail. Nelly Roberts became the first orchid artist for the RHS, and would go on to hold the job for 56 years. She left a legacy of thousands of exquisite, botanically accurate paintings. Before she died in 1959, she […]
Australian Underground Orchids are among the most mysterious plants. Nothing else flowers underground. Also known as Rhizanthellas, they’re rare, endangered, and very difficult to find. Habitat loss has decimated their numbers, and now climate change may wipe them out completely. They live entirely underground, where they germinate, grow, flower, and set seed. They may be […]
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 […]
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 […]
Some orchids can be sneaky. Greenhoods, or Pterostylis orchids, have a surprise in store for small flies, gnats, and mosquitoes. These strange flowers have tricky lips. As an insect enters the flower, the hinged lip snaps shut. This briefly imprisons the pollinator inside the bloom. The only escape route is a tight squeeze past the […]
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 […]
British scientists have discovered that some orchids can feed their seedlings. The Common Spotted Orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii) is a widespread terrestrial in Europe and parts of Asia. Mature plants of this species enlist underground networks of fungi to share sugars with nearby seedlings. Senior study author Katie Field, a biologist at the University of Sheffield, […]
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