Trivia Time: Interesting Facts About Orchids

So we love the myriad of gorgeous shapes and colours that orchids come in, and some of us take great pleasure in growing them. But, how many of us actually know the history and facts of these amazing flowers. Here are some interesting gems that every orchid-lover should discover and may appreciate.

• The first orchids on earth co-existed with dinosaurs. That’s approximately 76 to 84 million years ago.


• The name Orchid originated from the Greek word “orchis” which means testicle thanks to the shape of its bulbous roots.


• The word “orchis” was first used by Theophastos, a student of the famous philosopher Aristotle. Theophastos used the word in his book, “The Natural History of Plants” and is considered to be the Father of Botany.


• Orchids make up the largest family of the plant kingdom as they have evolved into at least 30,000 known species, which includes specially cultivated hybrids.


• Orchids actually live and thrive in various climates & environments - rainforests, mountains, bogs and grassy plains. They can be found in all continents and habitats except for Antarctica and deserts.


• For many centuries and in several ancient cultures, only the royal families and the elite rich could own the plants, wear the flowers, or drink potions created from orchids as orchids were regarded as very special and exclusive.


• Vanilla, the very common spice that we use in our homes for baking and flavouring drinks and dishes actually comes from the fruit of an orchid; Vanilla planifolia.


• Europe was the first home for serious orchid collecting. In 1818, William Cattley became the very first person to successfully bloom a cultivated orchid.


• Orchid flowers boast a huge size range. They can grow to be as tiny as a head of a pin (Platystele sp. Central America) or as tall as a giraffe at 10 feet (Grammatophyllum sp., New Guinea).


• The majority of orchids planted at home are either Phalaenopsis (moth orchid), dendrobium, vanda, paphiopedilum (slipper orchid) or cymbidium.

If you would like to learn more about orchids or orchid-growing, we would be more than delighted to share what we know with you. Please get in touch with us http://www.hexagongreen.com/contactus.