The modern vanilla industry owes its existence to a young enslaved African, Edmond Albius. Vanilla vines had been imported from Mexican jungles to the tiny French colony of Réunion, in the Indian Ocean near Madagascar. But without their Mexican bee pollinators, nobody could figure out how to produce vanilla beans. In 1841, Edmond Albius, then […]
Want to live longer? Try gardening! Many of the world’s oldest living people are gardeners. In Earth’s “blue zones” where people live the longest, many of them garden into their 80’s and 90’s. Of course, fresh air and exercise are very beneficial, and homegrown fruits and vegetables can improve diets, too. Scientific studies have shown […]
Find hybrid orchid family trees at OrchidRoots.com. This website compiles information about orchid species, hybrids, and hybrid parents. Searches can be done by looking for a named variety or browsing through genus lists. Hybridizers used to need to consult multiple volumes of The Sanders List of Orchid Hybrids for this data, until paid software offered […]
Want to stay current on orchid science news? Check out the latest at Kew’s Orchid Research Newsletter. Published twice a year, it includes updates on recent orchid papers, name changes, conferences, book reviews, and more. RBG Kew in London is a global center for plant science and conservation.
Celebrate today’s spring equinox with these astounding orchid prints. Rankafu, which means Orchid Flower Album in Japanese, consists of 83 works done in 1946 by orchid lover Shotaro Kaga and artist Zuigetsu Ikeda. These woodblock prints are considered masterpieces for their exquisite colors, fine details, and expert use of difficult ukiyo-e printing techniques. In addition […]
During our recent visit to Buenos Aires, it was great to see lots of vertical gardens. We spotted green walls above stores, banks, and inside office buildings. With ongoing efforts to add green spaces to the city, it’s certainly an effective way to include more plant life in crowded neighborhoods. Ferns, vines, and even Split […]
How small are orchid seeds? They’re the smallest seeds in the world, like specks of dust. In fact, those little black dots in vanilla ice cream are seeds, and they’re considered large for the orchid family. The photos below show greatly enlarged images of Epidendrum seeds. Each tiny white thread is actually an individual seed. […]
Bad wildfires have brought terribly smoky conditions to the San Francisco Bay Area for the past week. Of course, this is nothing compared to the suffering of those who have lost homes and loved ones in the fires, which are over 150 miles (241 km) away. However, it is causing bad air problems. Our daily […]
Orchid lovers have more reasons than ever to join the American Orchid Society (AOS.) Of course, there’s the great monthly Orchids magazine with gorgeous photos and superb care advice that comes with membership. But now, the AOS has also greatly expanded their online resources. All of their old magazines, going back to 1932, are now […]
Check out 11 orchid flowers that look like animals, including humans, at Looseferspeaks.com. Bee Orchids, Monkey Orchids, and Flying Duck Orchids earn their names honestly. There are also Moth Orchids, Dancing Lady Orchids, and more. They all appear to stretch the definition of what a flower can be.
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