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Introduction to Orchids...101 (Part 1)

 

The three pages were designed to provide an "orchid pre-primer" to those who have limited knowledge of orchids and want introductory information.  Perhaps, more experienced orchid enthusiasts might find interesting facts, as well.  

 

The source for this information was Wikipedia (Wiki Website) which is a collaboratively edited, multilingual, free-access, free content Internet encyclopedia that is supported and hosted by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation and owned by Wikimedia Foundation.  Please note that each section is notated by the use of a linking button to each specific Wikipedia webpage as a means of referencing the source.

 

The EALOC publisher/editor extracted basic information and photographs from Wikipedia about each of nine orchid groups for this EALOC website.  Next to each title is a button where the reader may want to go to the Wikipedia website for indepth reading regarding each specific orchid group.   

Brassovola
Brassovola
 

·         Named in 1813 by the Scottish botanist Robert Brown.

·         Name comes from the Venetian nobleman and physician Antonio Musa

               Brassavola.

·         In 1698, Brassavola nodosa was the first tropical orchid brought from the

               Caribbean

               island of Curacao to Holland.

·         Found in Mexico, Central America, the West Indies and South America.

·         A single, long pointed and succulent leaf grows on an elongated pseudobulb.

·         Are epiphytes (getting its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, and sometimes

               from debris accumulating around it, but not from the host to which it’s

               attached)

·         A few are lithophytes (grows in or on rocks)

·         Single white or greenish white flower, or a raceme of a few flowers. The three

               sepals

               and two lateral petals are greenish, narrow and long.

·         Most are very fragrant, but only at night, in order to attract the right moth.

               Longevity of flowers depends on the species and is between five and thirty days.

Cattleya
Cattleya

 

·         Named in 1824 by John Lindley after William Cattley. 

·         Discovered the new plant in Pernambuco, Brazil, in 1817 and shipped to the

               Glasgow Botanic Gardens for identification.

·         Found from Costa Rica and the Lesser Antilles, south to Argentina.

·         Widely known for their large, showy flowers, and were used extensively

               in hybridization for the cut-flower trade until the 1980s when potted plants

               became more popular.

·         Flowers of the hybrids can vary in size from 5 cm to 15 cm or more and occur in all

               colors except true blue and black.

·         Typical flower has three rather narrow sepals and three usually broader petals: two

               petals are similar to each other, and the third is the a different

               conspicuous lip.

·         Each flower stalk originates from a pseudobulb.   

Dendrobium
Dendrobium
 

·         Established by Olof Swartz in 1799.

·         Greek dendron ("tree") and bios ("life"), meaning "one who lives on trees",

               (epiphyte).

·         Occurs in diverse habitats throughout much of south, east and southeast Asia,

               including China, Japan, India, the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, New

               Guinea, Vietnam, and many of the islands of the Pacific.

·         Huge genus of orchids, about 1,200 species.

·         Either epiphytic (grows in trees) or occasionally lithophytic (grows in or on rocks)

               and have adapted to a wide variety of habitats, from the high altitudes in

               the Himalayan mountains to lowland tropical forests and even to the dry

               climate of the Australian desert.

·         Grows quickly throughout summer, but takes a rest during winter.  Dormant buds

               erupt into shoots from the base of the pseudobulb mainly in spring, and a few

               species in autumn.

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Introduction, Part 2

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