Bouquet of Orchids

ორქიდეა

ორქიდეა – The orchid a large family of flowering plants, the Orchid. They are herbaceous monocots.

There are between 22,000 and 26,000 species in 880 genera. They make up between 6–11% of all seed plants. Orchids can be found in almost every country in the world except for Antarctica.

People have grown orchids for a 5 number of years. They grow orchids for show, for science, or for food (for example, vanilla).

Some orchids have very special ways of pollination. For example, the Lady’s Slipper can trap insects and make them pollinate the flower. Another instance is the Austrian orchid, which grows underground and is pollinated by ants.

Many orchids are myco-heterotrophs: their roots need fungi to break down organic material for them to absorb.

Distribution 

Colombia and Ecuador have many different species. The Brazilian Atlantic forest has over 1500 species. Other places with great variety are the mountains in the south of the Himalayas in India and China. The mountains of Central America and southeastern Africa also have various species, especially the island of Madagascar.

Ecuador has 3459 species, the greatest number recorded. After Ecuador is Colombia, which has 2723. After Colombia is New Guinea, 2717 and Brazil, which has 2590 species in all.

In warm places, where there is much grass, or in places where there is dry savanna and rocky fields, orchids grow in the ground. They have firm underground roots, and sometimes have tubers to help protect themselves against cold or snow. The tubers also help protect them against long drought or fire. The cold would freeze the roots if they were not protected to store the nutrients they need for blooming in the spring.

It is thought that some species are becoming extinct in the wild. This is mainly because people cut down forests for agriculture