Orchid: Vanda Udom Sunshine
Vandaceous hybrids that can be grown in full sun are becoming increasingly popular in Jamaica, the Caribbean and in several areas of the world. In these places with moderate temperatures, they can be grown outdoors as landscape plants or in gardens. Indeed these have becone so popular in Jamaica that the are known erroneously as "SUN VANDAS". We believe this to be an unfortunate and misguided name as it gives the impression to some persons that all Vandas are suitable for full sun culture, causing them to put plants that require shade in full sun, resulting in severe burning to these plants.We will not attempt to supply cultural information here excepting to say that it is important to know how to treat your plants so as to enable you to grow and flower these very beautiful and rewarding orchids. They are quite easy to grow, as long you learn how to properly treat them. As in all things, when in doubt seek knowledge.We have separated our Vandaceous orchids into two groups, those that require partial shade and those that require or can be adapted to growing in full sun.
http://www.hamlynorchids.com/Vandaceous.html
Orchid Facts
Orchids are one of the largest and most diverse groups of plants. So far, over 25 000 species of orchids have been described. Each year, researchers are discovering hundreds of new species. Besides huge number of orchids in the wild, 100 000 varieties of orchids are created artificially, via selective breeding. Orchids can be found throughout the world. They can survive in different kind of habitats, even close to the Arctic Circle. Most species of orchids live in tropical rainforests, in the warm and humid climates. Unfortunately, 10% of all orchid species are close to extinction because of the growing popularity of cultivation of orchids.
Interesting Orchid Facts:
Size of orchids depends on the species. They can be tiny as a penny or extremely large, weighing couple of hundred pounds.
Orchids can have single flower or racemose inflorescence. Each flower is bilateral symmetric, which means that it can be divided in two equal parts.
Size, shape and texture of leaves depend on the habitat. Orchids that live in dry climate have thick leaves covered with wax, while species that live in warm and humid areas have thin, elongated leaves. Certain species of orchids do not have leaves at all.
Orchids do not have classic root. They have rhizome, tuber or aerial roots.
Orchids can live on the ground (terrestrial forms), attached to woody plants (epiphytic types) or under the ground.
Certain species of orchids are parasitic. They are not able to produce food (sugar) using the sunlight and carbon dioxide (like other plants). Instead, they obtain food from fungi that live inside their roots.
Bond between orchids and certain species of insects is tight and highly specialized. Petals have similar shape and color like female insects to attract males and ensure pollination.
Due to high specialization of pollination, extinction of insect means extinction of orchid (there is no one else who can pollinate it in the wild).
Flower of orchid can survive from few hours to 6 months, depending on the species.
Orchids produce several millions of miniature seeds. Only few seeds will develop into mature plant.
Seed of orchids does not have endosperm which provides nutrients required for the germination. Because of that, all orchids (including non parasitic forms) live in symbiosis with fungi during germination. Germination can last from couple of weeks to 15 years.
People use orchids for numerous purposes. Substances isolated from orchids are used in industry of perfumes, spices and in traditional Asian medicine.
Vanilla is one of the best known and widely used flavors. It is extracted from the pod of Vanilla planifolia, which is a species of orchid.
Orchids are very old plants. According to the fossil evidences, orchids exist on the planet around 100 million years.
Lifespan of orchid depends on the species. Certain species can survive up to 100 years.
http://www.softschools.com/facts/plants/orchid_facts/506/
Rainforest Orchids:
ADAPTATIONS:
Orchids (Orchidaceae) first appeared on Earth about 100 million years ago and adapted over time to include both terrestrial types growing in soil and epiphytic types thriving on only air and water. Close to 25,000 naturally occurring orchid species exist on every continent, and all have their own distinctive characteristics or adaptations. Even though they have diversity among their species, orchids share common strategies that ensure their survival.
Flower Pollination
Multipurpose Roots
http://www.hamlynorchids.com/Vandaceous.html
Orchid Facts
Orchids are one of the largest and most diverse groups of plants. So far, over 25 000 species of orchids have been described. Each year, researchers are discovering hundreds of new species. Besides huge number of orchids in the wild, 100 000 varieties of orchids are created artificially, via selective breeding. Orchids can be found throughout the world. They can survive in different kind of habitats, even close to the Arctic Circle. Most species of orchids live in tropical rainforests, in the warm and humid climates. Unfortunately, 10% of all orchid species are close to extinction because of the growing popularity of cultivation of orchids.
Interesting Orchid Facts:
Size of orchids depends on the species. They can be tiny as a penny or extremely large, weighing couple of hundred pounds.
Orchids can have single flower or racemose inflorescence. Each flower is bilateral symmetric, which means that it can be divided in two equal parts.
Size, shape and texture of leaves depend on the habitat. Orchids that live in dry climate have thick leaves covered with wax, while species that live in warm and humid areas have thin, elongated leaves. Certain species of orchids do not have leaves at all.
Orchids do not have classic root. They have rhizome, tuber or aerial roots.
Orchids can live on the ground (terrestrial forms), attached to woody plants (epiphytic types) or under the ground.
Certain species of orchids are parasitic. They are not able to produce food (sugar) using the sunlight and carbon dioxide (like other plants). Instead, they obtain food from fungi that live inside their roots.
Bond between orchids and certain species of insects is tight and highly specialized. Petals have similar shape and color like female insects to attract males and ensure pollination.
Due to high specialization of pollination, extinction of insect means extinction of orchid (there is no one else who can pollinate it in the wild).
Flower of orchid can survive from few hours to 6 months, depending on the species.
Orchids produce several millions of miniature seeds. Only few seeds will develop into mature plant.
Seed of orchids does not have endosperm which provides nutrients required for the germination. Because of that, all orchids (including non parasitic forms) live in symbiosis with fungi during germination. Germination can last from couple of weeks to 15 years.
People use orchids for numerous purposes. Substances isolated from orchids are used in industry of perfumes, spices and in traditional Asian medicine.
Vanilla is one of the best known and widely used flavors. It is extracted from the pod of Vanilla planifolia, which is a species of orchid.
Orchids are very old plants. According to the fossil evidences, orchids exist on the planet around 100 million years.
Lifespan of orchid depends on the species. Certain species can survive up to 100 years.
http://www.softschools.com/facts/plants/orchid_facts/506/
Rainforest Orchids:
- The orchid family is a group of very hardy plants that are very abundant in the wild. They belong to the family Orchidaceae, which is claimed by some authorities to be the largest of the plant families.
- There are some 230 species of orchids found in the Wet Tropics of Queensland. This is between one-quarter and one-third of Australia's orchids. Their evolution has enabled them to live in a variety of niches including growing on trees (epiphytes), rocks (lithophytes) and in the ground (terrestrials). Some species have lost their chlorophyll and ability to derive energy from sunlight. This means they must rely on are saprophyte fungi to provide food.
- Orchids are characterised through their ways of animal pollination and wind dispersal and their adaptations to these to give them their common features. The pollen grains are massed into discrete parcels called pollinia to help with efficient pollination as the parcels are easily carried around by insects. The orchid flowers have evolved to entice the insect into doing this.
- The flower is made up of three sepals which are similar to each other and arranged radially, and three petals, one of which is modified to act as a landing pad for insect pollinators. The female and male parts in the centre of the flower are fused into a column with a single anther at the end. Some species have a lip designed to mimic a female insect and attracts males to try to mate with it. The colours, shapes and scents used to attract insects are numerous.
- Ranked among the world's most attractive species is the Cooktown Orchid. It has large pink coloured flowers - a common sight in the Cape York Peninsula monsoon scrubs.
- Orchids are abundant from Townsville to Cooktown in areas of rainforest, open forest, mangroves, mountain tops and even eucalypt-dominated forests. This diversity in habitats has resulted in the rich diversity in orchids.
- Because of the widespread interest in orchids, they are collected by many people, sometimes resulting in significant decreases in numbers of orchids. They will need to be protected, which can be afforded to some extent by National Parks and the World Heritage Area, but it must be recognised that simply declaring an area as a National Park will not be fully protect the plants in it.
- Growing native orchids is fine, but there are some rules that should be followed: - 1. be aware of the legislation regarding collecting from the wild; 2. do not collect unless you have permission from the land owner; 3. only collect from areas which have been or are to be cleared; 4. never buy orchids unless satisfied they were obtained legally; 5. do not collect plants that you do not have the expertise or conditions to successfully grow them; 6. do not collect more than you need for yourself.
- In the Wet Tropics upland rainforests, large epiphyte orchids occur on the larger trunks and forks, but the real diversity is often in the small branches of the outer canopy. Terrestrial species such as the jewel orchid may be abundant on the forest floor where there are rocks, on slopes where there is good drainage, or on the banks of small streams.
- A few of the many orchid species found in the Wet Tropics include the Apricot Orchid, Pink Fingers, Jewel Orchid, Christmas Orchid, Leafless Nodding Orchid, Northern Tangle Orchid, Tableland Pencil Orchid, Charging Bull Orchid, Fairy Bells and King Orchid.
- Many botanists believe it to be one of the most highly evolved plant families, and there are indeed many species that have elaborately specialised relationships with particular pollinating insects. They are important to humans for various other reasons; for example, the flavour vanilla comes from an orchid.
- It is also one of the celebrated families, for the spectacular, elaborate flowers are prized by flower fanciers all over the world.
- The flowers are often spectacular in the fact that they are often colourful, or intricately patterned, and the uneven (zygomorphic) petal arrangement often forms bizarre shapes. These are made from three sepals; two lateral sepals that stick forward, and a high dorsal sepal, and three petals; two lateral petals that stick out like wings, and the front hanging petal called the labellum that hangs out like a tongue (Clarke and Lee 1997). The resulting fruits are usually small, hard, dull capsules.
- The plants themselves are usually only small, growing either as tiny ground herbs, or compact bunches growing on trees or rocks.
- Orchids are found practically over the world. However, they are much better known, and there are many more species, in the tropics, where they grow mainly as epiphytes high in the rainforest canopy.
- http://rainforest-australia.com/orchids.htm
ADAPTATIONS:
Orchids (Orchidaceae) first appeared on Earth about 100 million years ago and adapted over time to include both terrestrial types growing in soil and epiphytic types thriving on only air and water. Close to 25,000 naturally occurring orchid species exist on every continent, and all have their own distinctive characteristics or adaptations. Even though they have diversity among their species, orchids share common strategies that ensure their survival.
Flower Pollination
- Orchids developed a variety of unusual flowers that attract the creatures that pollinate them. Some flowers resemble their pollinators, such as those of moth orchids (Phalaenopsis group), which are hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 10 through 12. The wide petals at the top of those flowers are reminiscent of moth wings. The flowers of Venus' slipper orchids (Paphiopedilum group) each has a pouch-shaped petal that directs bees and birds straight to the source of pollen. Venus' slipper orchids are perennial in USDA zones 9 through 12.
- The ghost orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii), an endangered species that is hardy in only southern Florida in USDA zone 10a, is a leafless orchid that relies on a symbiotic relationship with fungi to move nutrients throughout the plant. A specific fungus lives inside this orchid's roots and also protrudes outside the roots and gathers nutrients from soil.
Multipurpose Roots
- Epiphytic orchids' roots have evolved to serve multiple functions. Such an orchid's roots work as roots normally do by transferring water and nutrients to the rest of the plant, but they also anchor the air plant to a tree and perform the photosynthesis that leaves normally do on other kinds of plants. An epiphytic orchid's roots also can store water in the same way as a succulent plant's stems, allowing the orchid to exist high in a tree top to get more sunlight than plants living below.
- Because epiphytic orchids live above soil level, they developed bulblike structures that perform the same work of storing water and nutrients that underground bulbs perform for other types of plants. In an epiphytic orchid, one or more sections of a stem bulge outward and become darkened areas, which are the pseudobulbs. Orchids with pseudobulbs can thrive in regions that have dry months between times of seasonal rainfalls.
- http://www.ehow.com/info_8514888_adaptations-orchids.html