Orchids are one of the most expensive and popular varieties among ornamental plants and a gardener’s personal favourite too. Over 18,000 species (8 per cent of the total world flower population) have been discovered so far and approximate 10,000 or more varieties remain to be recorded. Most of the orchid varieties are endemic, that is, they are native to specific microhabitats, making them extremely rare. The orchid varieties found in the landscapes of the Andean Valley are one such example of this uniqueness in habitat.
Orchids are very much adjusted to life in the overhangs of rainforests. Can you recall, from what you read before, how these epiphytic flowering plants take in nutrition and stay hydrated all the time of the year? Their wrapping roots absorb nutrition from the atmosphere and the fleshy stems store rainwater to withstand dry weather.
Amazing to say, orchids also give out fruits that contain thousands of micron-sized seeds that are as light as a balloon. The lighter and smaller the seed, the easier it is to get dispersed across vast regions, isn’t it?
Like most other rare plant and animal species of the rainforests, many orchid varieties too, have already been terminated or, are on the verge of imminent extinction because of forest annihilation activities undertaken by humans.
Picture Credit : Google
