WHAT IS AN ORCHID ? 



HAT IS an orchid ? 

 This is the question 

 asked by everyone who 

 visits our large flora^ 

 establishments, and it 

 is the one which is sel- 

 dom or never a n - 

 swered. It is not 

 strange that people 

 should be confused, 

 for orchids as we see 

 them in the great greenhouses and in the exhibi- 

 tions show almost every conceivable variation in 

 form and color and marking of the flowers, and the 

 habits of the plants are almost as diverse. Some sup- 

 pose that orchids are air plants, but the larger part 

 of them, at least in temperate climates, are not. 

 Some suppose that they all have peculiarly thick- 

 ened bulb-like roots, yet great numbers of them 

 do not. Others define orchids as parasitic plants, 

 yet there are comparatively few species which are 

 parasites. Some suppose that they are peculiar to 

 tropical countries, but there are many native to 

 Canada. In fact, the orchids are among the most 

 diverse of all plants, and yet the order is clearly 

 and pretty sharply defined. 



What, then, is an orchid ? The most peculiar mark 

 is the union of the stamens and pistil into one organ, 

 known as the column. The pollen is nearly always 

 borne in masses, known as pollinia, although it is granu- 

 lar in a few species, as in some cypripediums. The 

 perianth or floral envelope is composed of six parts — 

 three sepals and three petals — and it itf always irregu- 

 lar. In fact, this irregularity of form and arrangement 

 gives to the orchids much of their charm. The upper 

 two petals often unite into a lip or sac, and by a twist of 

 the ovary they are thrown downwards, so that they ap- 

 pear to be the lower petals. The ovary is one-celled 

 and is borne below the perianth, and the seeds are 

 numerous and very minute. Orchids are always herbs, 

 and they belong to the great class of endogenous or 

 parallel-veined plants which includes the irises, lilies 

 and palms. 



Such, in a popular way, may be taken as a definition 

 of the orchid family. The species possess innumerable 

 modifications. They are perhaps the most specialized 

 of all plants. Their arrangements for insuring cross- 

 fertilization are wonderfully perfect and varied, as any- 

 one knows who has consulted Darwin's remarkable 

 work upon " The Various Contrivances by which Or- 

 chids are Fertilized by Insects." Many of the species 



possess bulb-like roots, and from this peculiarit)' the 

 name orchid itself is derived. The salep of commerce 

 is produced from these orchid tubers in I'ersia. Many 

 species bear green bulb-like bodies at the base of the 

 leaves above ground, and these are known as pseudo- 

 bulbs, literally "false-bulbs." These pseudo-bulbs are 

 used for propagating the plant. They are often cut 

 into pieces much as potatoes are cut for planting. The 

 leaves of orchids are commonly thick and stiff, and the 

 margins are always entire, as, in fact, are the leaf mar- 

 gins of all endogens. Many species are leafless. Num- 

 bers of them live upon the trunks of trees in their 

 native tropical forests and obtain nourishment from the 

 air, and these are grown as epiphytes or air-plants in 

 our greenhouses. Some of them are saprophytes, or 

 live upon decaying matter, while many others are para- 

 sites proper, drawing their nourishment from live plants. 

 In our northern woods some of the species live upon 

 the rcots of trees. These parasites are small, brown 

 and leafless plants whih occur here and there through- 

 out the temperate zone. The leading o'nes in the north 

 are the coral-root? or corallorhizas. 



The species of orchids number over 5,000, of which 

 perhaps half have been brought into cultivation. Ben- 

 tham and Hooker admit 334 genera. The greater num- 

 ber of the species occur in the tropics, but many species 

 grow in cool temperate regions and a very few enter the 

 frigid zone. The species of the temperate zone which 

 are most familiarly known are the lady slippers, of which 

 there are many species. The lady slippers are known to 

 botanists as cypripediums (a name meaning Venus' 

 stocking !). Many exotic species are cultivated, and 

 they are among the most desirable plants for horti- 

 culturists. The genus orchis itself includes some 80 

 species, of which very few are known to cultivation, 

 and none of them, probably, possess much merit for 

 house culture. In our native swamps many very hand- 

 some species occur, especially interesting being the shy 

 calypso and the gay arethusa. Orchids are nearly 

 always rare or infrequent. Few soils and locations ap- 

 pear to suit them, or perhaps they are crowded to the 

 wall by more vigorous and cosmopolitan plants. Al- 

 though the seeds are usually produced in exceedingly 

 great abundance, very few of them appear to find con- 

 ditions suitable to their growth. The gardener knows 

 how hard it is to raise seedlings of any orchid. The 

 seed pods are usually dry and mostly uninteresting 

 fruits, but the pod of the vanilla is the source whence 

 comes the vanilla of commerce. Some of the species, 

 of which the vanilla is an example, are climbing vines. 

 Many of the orchids bear perfectly green and incon- 

 spicuous flowers. Botanists will recall the green and 

 obscure flowers of some of the little habenarias which 

 grow upon moist banks and in cool woods. 



