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What is an Orchid Family?


Orchidaceae, or the Orchid Family, is the largest family among angiosperms (flowering plants) with about 800 genera and as much as 3500 species. This makes at least 10 % of all the known angiosperm species. Orchids are highly specialized plants that have adapted to a wide range of geographical habitats, showing some unique features that help their survival and successful procreation.

For example, bee orchids (of the genus Ophrys) bear flowers that look like female insects, thus attracting male insects and resulting in pollination. Orchid plants produce the smallest seeds, usually in millions, among all angiosperms. Since orchids have not been recorded as fossils, their evolutionary history is hard to work out. Still, it can be asserted that orchid were among the first flowering plants that evolved on the land at around 120 million years ago.

Habitat and Mode of Living

Orchids inhabit a wide range of habitats throughout the tropics, spreading over temperate zones in both hemispheres of the globe, and making their way into the peripheries of the Arctic. Antarctica seems to be the only place where possibility of finding an orchid plant is ruled out.

Most familiar varieties of orchids come from the tropics with large and beautiful flowers that suit the decorative taste of admirers and also of florists who use them in bouquets and corsages. Most orchid species grow from horizontal stems, called rhizomes whose thick bases-the pseudobulbs- store water. Pseudobulbs are the sites from where flowers arise. Orchids bearing pseudobulbs belong to the sympodial group (known for the famous Cattleya, Laelia, and Coelogyne).

In contrast stands the monopodial group (Vanda and Aerides) in which the plant grows continuously from a central crown. Majority of the orchid species grow as epiphytes on the top of other trees, plants, and even rocks. Saprophytic orchid species grow over organic debris. Some orchids live in symbiotic association with fungi that provide nutrients to the orchid, in return securing a stable environment for growth.

Hybrid Orchid

Orchids tend to retain the purity of their breed i.e. species from different genera do not easily interbreed to produce hybrid plants. Man-designed hybridization has, however, produced many hybrid varieties of beautiful orchid flowers, some of which are of high commercial value like the Brassolaelio-cattleya, a cross between Laelia and Cattleya. Furthering certain qualities of purebred orchids is another aim for which hybridization has been initiated. An example of such is the yellow color in orchids.

Yellow is not an exoteric color among orchid flowers and is mainly found in Cattleya Dowiana. Hybridization allows the specific color to grow and perpetuate. The physicality of certain purebred orchids is also enhanced by hybridization process. Thus Brassocattleyas narrow sepals and petals and poor texture have been improved by crossing it with Laelia to produce a variety of firm size and texture.

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