Orchids sell by the billions, and 99% of known sales are legal. They’re usually human-made hybrids, not wild plants. But there’s also a vast illegal trade in wild orchids. The buyers include unscrupulous orchid collectors whose demand can cause extinctions. Newly discovered species can be quickly stripped from the wild. Scientists often find new varieties […]
Orchids come and go. Scientists frequently find new orchids, and also raise warnings about orchid extinctions. Recent finds include two new Aerides from the Philippines, and a natural Laelia hybrid from Oaxaca, Mexico (article in Spanish.) In the Philippines, Aerides turma and Aerides turma forma anniversarius are two more orchid species to add to that […]
In Defense of Plants exposes The Deceptive Ways of the Calypso Orchid. This dainty, charming species grows in northern forests of North America, Europe, and Asia, where it’s pollinated by bumblebees. The bees are attracted by the orchid’s sweet fragrance, yellow hairs on the flower lip which mimic pollen, and nectar spurs. But the yellow […]
In Australia, a country full of extraordinary plants, the Queen of Sheba Orchids stand out. Their brilliant displays of purples, pinks, and gold make them Australian orchid royalty, and their admirers refer to them simply as “Queens.” The Sydney Morning Herald reports that this rare and endangered native of Western Australia may be making a […]
In Japan, BotanyBoy describes the plight of the Samurai Orchid. Cultivated for centuries, they’re now endangered in the wild. Populations have shrunk as native habitats have been destroyed or altered by humans. Old growth forests only remain in small, disjointed pockets. They include areas around temples, shrines, rivers, and the very tops of mountain ridges. […]
It’s well-established that gardening is good for our health, and a new British study augments the evidence. Researchers from the University of Exeter and the Royal Horticultural Society analyzed data from almost 8,000 people. The study found the benefits of gardening to health and wellbeing were similar to the difference in health between people living […]
From London, RBG Kew explains how sneaky orchids can be. Many orchid varieties offer nectar or fragrant oils for their pollinators, but others are tricksters. Their colors, shapes, or scents deceptively advertise rewards, but they have none. Some temporarily trap their pollinators, like the remarkable Bucket Orchid, which makes bees squeeze past its pollen to […]
The Pink Lady Slipper, or Cypripedium acaule, used to grow wild in the Philadelphia area, but now is uncommon. It’s one of the most enchanting and elegant orchids native to the Eastern USA and Canada. When local plants were discovered last June, experts from nearby Longwood Gardens jumped into action. They hand-pollinated the flowers, and […]
Photographer and conservationist Paul Sterry saw a Ghost Orchid in 1986. Thirty-three years later, in 2019, he found another. His remarkable photos reveal a flower that very few people see in real life: the Ghost Orchid, or Epipogium aphyllum. (Even though it shares a common name, it’s different than the famous Florida Ghost Orchid in […]
Even if you can’t visit Ireland to see the remarkable orchid paintings of Glasnevin, you can still enjoy some of them online. Located in Dublin, the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin holds over 2,500 orchid works. Most depict the garden’s own orchids, and were done by two skilled botanical artists, Lydia Shackleton and Alice Jacob. Contact […]
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