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.
Cypripedium is a genus of 58 species and nothospecies of hardy orchids; it is one of five genera that together compose the subfamily of lady's slipper orchids (Cypripedioideae). They are widespread across much of the Northern Hemisphere, including most of Europe and Africa (Algeria), Russia, China, Central Asia, Canada the United States, Mexico, and Central America. They are most commonly known as slipper orchids, lady's slipper orchids, or ladyslippers; other common names include moccasin flower, camel's foot, squirrel foot, steeple cap, Venus' shoes, and whippoorwill shoe. An abbreviation used in trade journals is "Cyp." The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek Κύπρις (Kúpris), an early reference in Greek myth to Aphrodite, and πέδιλον (pédilon), meaning "sandal".
Gongora, abbreviated Gga in horticultural trade, is a member of the orchid family (Orchidaceae). It consists of 65 species known from Central America, Trinidad, and tropical South America, with most species found in Colombia. They grow across a wide geographical range, from wet forests at sea level, to mountainous regions in the Andes, as high as 1,800 m.
Cymbidium, commonly known as boat orchids, is a genus of evergreen flowering plants in the orchid family Orchidaceae. Orchids in this genus are epiphytic, lithophytic, terrestrial or rarely leafless saprophytic herbs usually with pseudobulbs. There are usually between three and twelve leaves arranged in two ranks on each pseudobulb or shoot and lasting for several years. From one to a large number of flowers are arranged on an unbranched flowering stem arising from the base of the pseudobulb. The sepals and petals are all free from and similar to each other. The labellum is significantly different from the other petals and the sepals and has three lobes. There are about fifty-five species and sixteen further natural hybrids occurring in the wild from tropical and subtropical Asia to Australia. Cymbidiums are well known in horticulture and many cultivars have been developed.
Laelia is a small genus of 25 species in the orchid family (Orchidaceae). Laelia species are found in areas of subtropical or temperate climate in Central and South America, but mostly in Mexico. Laelia is abbreviated L. in the horticultural trade.
The genus Cochleanthes is made up of 4 species of orchids native to Mexico, Central America, the West Indies and South America. The name Cochleanthes refers to the shape of the flower.
Maxillaria, abbreviated as Max in the horticultural trade, is a large genus of orchids. This is a diverse genus, with very different morphological forms. Their characteristics can vary widely. They are commonly called spider orchids, flame orchids or tiger orchids. Their scientific name is derived from the Latin word maxilla, meaning jawbone, reflecting on the column and the base of the lip of some species, that may evoke a protruding jaw.
Schomburgkia was a genus of plants belonging to the family Orchidaceae. This genus was named for Richard Schomburgk, a German botanist who explored British Guiana during the 19th century. Former species of this genus were either epiphytic or lithophytic in their growth habit. According to the Royal Horticultural Society Schom. was the official abbreviation for this genus.
CaularthronRaf. (1837), abbreviated Cau. in the horticultural trade, is a genus of orchids with 4 species. They are epiphytic orchids with specialized hollow pseudobulbs that house ants. The genus is exclusively found in the tropical regions of southern Mexico, Central America, the West Indies, and northern South America.
Drakaea is a genus of 10 species in the plant family Orchidaceae commonly known as hammer orchids. All ten species only occur in the south-west of Western Australia. Hammer orchids are characterised by an insectoid labellum that is attached to a narrow, hinged stem, which holds it aloft. The stem can only hinge backwards, where the broadly winged column carries the pollen and stigma. Each species of hammer orchid is pollinated by a specific species of thynnid wasp. Thynnid wasps are unusual in that the female is flightless and mating occurs when the male carries a female away to a source of food. The labellum of the orchid resembles a female thynnid wasp in shape, colour and scent. Insect pollination involving sexual attraction is common in orchids but the interaction between the male thynnid wasp and the hammer orchid is unique in that it involves the insect trying to fly away with a part of the flower.
Jennyella is a genus of orchids. The description was published in 1999 by E. Luckel & H. Fessel separating four species previously grouped in Houlletia. The genus is named in honor of Rudolf Jenny, noted researcher and author on orchids.
Lycaste, abbreviated as Lyc. in horticultural trade, is a genus of orchids that contains about 30 species with egg-shaped pseudobulbs and thin, plicate (pleated) leaves.
Dendrobium kingianum, commonly known as the pink rock orchid, is a flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It usually grows on rocks, rarely as an epiphyte, and has thin, spreading leaves and spikes of up to fifteen, usually pink flowers in late winter to spring. It is popular in Australian native horticulture and is a commonly cultivated orchid among Australian orchid species growers.
The genus Arachnis, abbreviated as Arach in horticultural trade, is a member of the orchid family (Orchidaceae), consisting of more than 20 species native to China, India, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, the Philippines, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands.
Scaphyglottis is a genus of orchids native to Mexico, Central America, northern South America and parts of the Caribbean. The current concept of this genus is the result of combining several genera which have been described at various times. The concept is characterized by the growth habit: not only are new pseudobulbs added at the base of the old ones, but new pseudobulbs also grow at the apices of the old ones. Many species are quite similar and difficult to distinguish, but some are clearly distinct. A few have showy colors. The genus comprises nearly 70 species.
Geodorum, commonly known as shepherds' crooks or 地宝兰属 , is a genus of eight species of flowering plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. They are deciduous, terrestrial herbs with underground pseudobulbs, broad, pleated leaves and small to medium-sized, tube-shaped or bell-shaped flowers on a flowering stem with a drooping end. Species in this genus are found in southern Japan, tropical Asia, Australia and islands of the southwest Pacific Ocean.
Myrmecophila humboldtii is a species of orchid. The species is named after Alexander von Humboldt. Its natural distribution is from Venezuela and the ABC islands.
Myrmecophila brysiana is an orchid in the genus Myrmecophila. A common name for the species is Brys's schomburgkia. It was first described by Charles Antoine Lemaire in 1851.
Myrmecophila tibicinis is an orchid in the genus Myrmecophila. A common name for the species is the trumpet player's Schomburgkia. It was first described by Bateman in 1838, as Epidendrum tibicinis, and assigned to the genus Myrmecophila by Rolfe in 1917.
An ant garden is a mutualistic interaction between certain species of arboreal ants and various epiphytic plants. It is a structure made in the tree canopy by the ants that is filled with debris and other organic matter in which epiphytes grow. The ants benefit from this arrangement by having a stable framework on which to build their nest while the plants benefit by obtaining nutrients from the soil and from the moisture retained there.
