AboutOrchids

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.

Green flowers are always a little surprising. They blend in with the leaves, but then there’s a glimpse of color, or a distinctive flower shape, and a blossom emerges into view. Of course, the vast, diverse orchid family has plenty of green flowers. This post shows just a few. Bright green, light green, yellowish green […]

Visit exotic jungles at the Orchids of New Guinea website. Famous as the home of Birds of Paradise, the world’s largest tropical island is also full of botanical wonders. Over 2000 species of orchids grow everywhere, from coastal forests to towering mountain ranges. Their incredible diversity is apparent in the website’s image gallery, which has […]

Wouldn’t it be great to take an orchid vacation? The Orchid Conservation Alliance (OCA) regularly sponsors trips to exotic lands with experts who guide orchid tours. These trips feature orchids in their native habitats, and raise money for conservation projects. Tours are limited to 15 people maximum. Future trips include Yunnan, China in May, and […]

The American Orchid Society (AOS) invites orchid lovers to submit their digital photos as candidates for the Orchid Photo of the Week. One picture is selected each week to feature on the AOS homepage. Photos must be posted to the AOS Flickr group (it’s free to open a Flickr account if you don’t already have […]

At AboutOrchids, we love all types of orchids, but some really stand above the rest. For example, the stunning Lady Slipper ornament pictured below is a priceless antique, full of gold, diamonds, and rubies. If it weren’t locked up in a museum, it could be a great Valentine’s Day gift. Dave spotted this beauty at […]

AboutOrchids is 10 years old today! As we approach 900 posts over a decade, it’s easy to look back and see how the blog (and I) have grown. When somebody asks how I still come up with new posts after all these years, the answer is that I’m still learning, too. And the more I […]

Everyone interested in orchid species should know about the Internet Orchid Species Photo Encyclopedia. I’ve mentioned this website in passing before, but it truly deserves its own post. Remarkably, this site lists 22,000 out of 28,000 orchid species! That’s almost 80% of all known orchids, with more continually added. There’s no other resource I know […]

Enjoy this adorable animation explaining how deceptive orchids can be. Some orchids trick pollinators, steal from fungi, or take advantage of trees to grow above the forest floor. And they’ve convinced lots of humans to do their bidding, too. The video below comes courtesy of the University of Western Australia and Curtin University.

What’s the difference between a Fen Orchid and a Bog Orchid? Best to consult A Beginner’s Vegetative Guide to the Orchids of the British Isles. This great, free resource from London’s Natural History Museum is expertly written, with beautiful illustrations and clear-cut explanations for botanical concepts. The guide focuses on identifying species by their leaves, […]