Orchids have the tiniest seeds in the world, making them a challenge to grow and cultivate. And there can be up to
3 million seeds in a single orchid seedpod. An orchid seed is the size of a dust particle and has no endosperm. That is, there is no nutrition within the seed. The orchid seed must associate itself with a fungus, often a specific fungus, to germinate. |
Orchids have been cultivated for more than 2,000 years and have a rich and colorful history. Modern breeding methods have placed these once exotic and expensive plants within the reach of most people. Furthermore, today's hybrids, which outnumber the species, are easier to grow and better generally better adapted to ordinary home conditions.
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Dendrobium aphyllum is amazing. Dendrobium aphyllum grows in India, Myanmar, Thailand and south China at 200 to 1800 m in seasonally dry tropical forests. The plant produces new leafy shoots in the spring that eventually become long slender pseudobulbs. The pseudobulbs shed their leaves after about a year. (Aphyllum means leafless.) Buds form in winter on the mature pseudobulbs.
In cultivation D. aphyllum (and similar species like D. anosmum) will thrive on a slab of tree fern, cedar or cork, or in a hanging basket to accommodate the pendant pseudobulbs. A small slatted basket creates a healthy environment for roots, but can become quirkily lopsided if the plant insists on directing all of its new growth to one side. |
Did you know?
Paphiopedilum insigne The Plant List records 30 different named varieties as synonyms of Paphiopedilum insigne, most of them published by Pfitzer in 1903. Even if most of these are color variants that don't deserve varietal status, the large number suggests a fair amount of variability, particularly for a species distributed over an area smaller than the state of New Hampshire. The state of Meghalaya in north-east India, home to Paphiopdilum insigne, is considered among the richest botanical and zoological habitats in Asia. It has a diverse topography. Seventy percent is forested with tropical and subtropical vegetation, and there are significant tracts of primary forest. Some areas in Megahlaya are among the wettest places on earth, receiving 472 inches (12,000 millimeters) of rain per year. It is exactly the sort of place where one expects to find high biodiversity. |