Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae, a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Earth except glaciers. The world's richest diversity of orchid genera and species is found in the tropics.
Cypripedioideae is a subfamily of orchids commonly known as lady's slipper orchids, lady slipper orchids or slipper orchids. Cypripedioideae includes the genera Cypripedium, Mexipedium, Paphiopedilum, Phragmipedium and Selenipedium. They are characterised by the slipper-shaped pouches of the flowers – the pouch traps insects so they are forced to climb up past the staminode, behind which they collect or deposit pollinia, thus fertilizing the flower. There are approximately 165 species in the subfamily.
Phragmipedium is a genus of the Orchid family (Orchidaceae) and the only genus comprised in the tribe Phragmipedieae and subtribe Phragmipediinae. The name of the genus is derived from the Greek phragma, which means "division", and pedium, which means "slipper". It is abbreviated 'Phrag' in trade journals.
Mexipedium is a monotypic genus of the Orchid family Orchidaceae, subfamily Cypripedioideae, consisting of only one species, Mexipedium xerophyticum. It is also the single genus of tribe Mexipedieae and subtribe Mexipediinae.
Vanilla, the vanilla orchids, forms a flowering plant genus of about 110 species in the orchid family (Orchidaceae). The most widely known member is the flat-leaved vanilla, native to Mexico and Belize, from which commercial vanilla flavoring is derived. It is the only orchid widely used for industrial purposes in flavoring such products as foods, beverages and cosmetics, and is recognized as the most popular aroma and flavor. The key constituent imparting its flavour is the phenolic aldehyde, vanillin.
Paphiopedilum armeniacum is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It is known commonly as the apricot orange paphiopedilum and golden slipper orchid. It is endemic to China, where it occurs only in Yunnan. It is also cultivated and has won prestigious awards at flower shows.
Paphiopedilum barbigerum is a species of flowering plant in the family Orchidaceae known commonly as the beard carrying paphiopedilum. It is native to China, Vietnam, and Thailand. It is an endangered species due to habitat destruction and overcollection for the horticultural trade.
Paphiopedilum fowliei is a species of plant in the family Orchidaceae. It is endemic to Palawan in the Philippines. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Hydrocotyle vulgaris, the marsh pennywort, common pennywort, water naval, money plant, lucky plant or copper coin, is a small creeping aquatic perennial plant native to North Africa, Europe, the Caucasus and parts of the Levant.
Disa bracteata, also known as the bract disa, leek orchid or the South African weed orchid is a species of orchid native to South Africa.
Paphiopedilum druryi is a species of orchid endemic to the Agastyamalai Hills of southern India. It is the only southern Indian orchid species in the genus. Rediscovered in 1972 after its original description in 1870, wild populations were decimated by commercial collectors and it is one of the few plants that are listed as threatened by the Indian government and included in CITES and the IUCN Redlist.
Paphiopedilum insigne is an Asian species of slipper orchid and the type species of the genus Paphiopedilum. Its name is derived from the Latin insigne, meaning 'badge of honor' due to the magnificent flower. In the 19th century it was very popular among European and American orchid growers, causing it to become very rare in the wild due to over collecting. There are many varieties of it and hybrids with it.
Paphiopedilum sukhakulii is a species of plant in the family Orchidaceae.
Galearis rotundifolia is a species of flowering plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It is commonly called roundleaf orchis and small round-leaved orchid. It is a succulent perennial herb native to North America, where it occurs throughout Canada, part of the northern United States, and Greenland.
Cypripedium passerinum is a species of lady's slipper orchid known by the common names sparrow's-egg lady's-slipper, spotted lady's-slipper, and Franklin's lady's-slipper.
Epipactis dunensis, commonly known as dune helleborine, is a species of plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to Great Britain and Ireland. It typically grows to a height of 20–50 cm (7.9–19.7 in) and the upper half of the flowering stalk is hairy. The plant has a long, fleshy rootstock and three to ten yellowish green, oval to lance-shaped leaves arranged in opposite rows along the flowering stem with up to 35 flowers. The three sepals are greenish, the two petals paler, the lower part of the labellum is boat-shaped and dark, chocolate brown with a transparent, whitish rim and the epichile is heart-shaped with a pointed tip. Flowering occurs from late June to mid-August, the flowers are mainly self-pollinated, and the fruit is a capsule, from which light, microscopic seeds are spread by the wind.
Corybas acuminatus, commonly known as the dancing spider orchid or helmet flower, is a species of terrestrial orchid endemic to New Zealand. It has a triangular, sharply pointed leaf and a small translucent, greenish-white flower with purple markings and with very long sepals. It is found on both the main islands of New Zealand and also some of the off-shore islands.
Bartholina burmanniana, the spider orchid, is a species of deciduous, geophytic, flowering plant in the family Orchidaceae. It is one of two species within the Bartholina genus, the other being B. etheliae. The species’ common name refers to its spreading and deeply cut lip that is said to resemble a spider's legs. It is native to the Eastern and the Western Cape Provinces of South Africa, flowering from the end of August to the middle of October and peaking in September. This is one of the species sometimes referred to as "spider orchid".
Paphiopedilum parishii is a species of orchid found in northern and western Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Yunnan and Assam, in montane forests at 1200–2200 m above sea level. It is named after Charles Samuel Pollock Parish, an English botanist and avid plant collector who had a particular interest in the flora of Myanmar.
Vanilla odorata, also known as vanilla tlatepusco, is a species of flowering plant in the family Orchidaceae, native to southern Mexico, Central America, and tropical South America. With Vanilla planifolia it is a parent of the vanilla crop species Vanilla × tahitensis.
