An Essay on Orchids

The Essay

For most people, orchids are the expensive and temperamental plants that are sold at the supermarket. Most of the orchids sold are phalaenopsis type orchids, otherwise known as 'moth orchids', causing orchids to be synonymous to Phalaenopsis. They are the gifts you give to others when you don't want to be ordinary. They bloom. The flowers die. The plant either withers or is thrown out. Occasionally people keep them and try to take care of them. Sometimes they are lucky and the plant lives -maybe even blooms again- for most, however, the plant eventually withers away and dies.

The view seen by most consumers, however, is not the whole part of the story, but rather a snippet of a glance into the world of orchids. There are nurseries singularly dedicated to orchids. There are orchid conventions. There are national orchid magazines published by the National Orchid Society dedicated to all the latest in the world of orchids such as new hybrids, new species, and general care tips for different orchids. The world of Orchids is so much bigger than can be seen through supermarket orchids. This said however, it does not mean that supermarket orchids should be condemned. The phalaenopsis orchid is one of the easiest plants to take care of, and a lot of the conditions ideal for that variety can be found in the average home. They serve the purpose of introducing the masses an easier route into the world of orchids without any of the stress that a more demanding plant would create.

The enormity of the orchid world is seldom well conceived, but one of the best ways to grasp its magnitude is to compare the Orchidaceae family to the Asteraceae family. The Asteraceae family is more commonly known in layman's terms as Daisy family. In terms of the number of species, the two are roughly evenly matched with no clear winner due to the difficulty of cataloging each species, and the flux of statistics regarding both. Most people, however, don't know just how many species of daisies there are in the world; they just how many of they see on their walk to and from wherever they need to go, and not even then do they notice the daisies. For further comparison, however, the family Orchidaceae is roughly equal to the bony fish family, and more than twice the size of the entirety of the bird family. Just think, for every type of fish in the oceans and lakes on this earth with a bony skeleton instead of a cartilaginous skeleton there is an equal number of species of orchid.

These species of orchids -however diverse and varied they may be- are still the same species and therefore, can be determined with the similar characteristics that all orchids share. All orchids regardless of the individual genus are perennial herbs and therefore they have no structure made of wood. Most orchids, however, do not behave like their fellow perennial herbs and prefer to grow on other structures or suspended in the air. There are, however, a rare few species that thrive in soil and therefore are called terrestrial orchids. The two main types of orchids, however, include the monopodial, and sympodial growing system not the terrestrial versus not-terrestrial habitat system. The monopodial system is evident in an orchid when the flower begins with a single bud from which leaves are added year by year. The most commonly known species of monopodial orchid is the classic and very well known phalaenopsis supermarket orchid. The sympodial system, however, has a parent plant which sends out shoots laterally allowing them to grow to maturity and send out shoots of their own. The most commonly known sympodial orchid is the cattleya orchid and is also one of the common supermarket orchids.

In terms of reproduction, orchids are special. They have the ability to sexually and asexually reproduce. When an orchid decides the conditions are right for sexual reproduction, it will send up a spike and the buds on the flower will bloom. The flowers will be pollinated and the undeveloped seeds fertilized. This will create a seedpod that when ripe, will send out millions of microscopic seeds with every seedpod. Few of these sees actually manage to sprout, however, due to the fact that specific types of fungus are needed in order to grow. Orchid seeds must pair with a fungus that will support them as a mycoheterotrophic (gathers it's nutrients from the fungus) plant until it is able to support itself. The other reproduction option available to orchids is an asexual reproduction, which is typically used when the plant feels it does not have enough light for sexual reproduction. The plant will usually do so by sending an offshoot from a stem or node. This method is called keikis, which is Hawaiian for 'baby' or 'child'. Many of the orchids seen in stores are produced using this method because it ensures uniform plants with ensured quality not possible by germinating seedlings.