Did you know that Vanilla is a genus of Orchids?? Well, I most certainly did not. The most prolific of all flowers, the orchids come in thousands of different varieties, with new one’s being added every single year. Amongst flowers, it holds the unique distinction of being a species with so many different varieties that it is said you can grow Orchids in any climatic condition. They come in different sizes ranging from microscopically small to large exotic flowers. One of the brightest most colorful flowers, it is said to exist in a large variety of colors though
The lure and legend of Orchid flowers
Orchids most certainly are the most alluring and enigmatic of all flowers. They are said to have outlived dinosaurs and I think we can safely assume that they will just as well outlive humans! The term ‘orchis’ which is Latin for ‘testicles’ was bestowed upon these flowers by Theophrastus, a student of Aristotle, who is considered the father of botany. This unusual name is attributed to the peculiar shape of the Orchid flowers. Tropical
Orchid flowers were first introduced to the western world in the age of exploration when English sailors bought back thousand of Orchids to Europe. What happened next can only be called ‘Orchid mania’; thousands of Europeans risked their lives for one flower, so enchanted were they by these mysterious flowers that they were willing to risk malaria, shipwrecks and even their lives to travel to the tropics to procure these flowers.
The tropical forests were filled with savage animals and many explorers died in their pursuit. When they did manage to find a previously undiscovered variety of the orchid flower, they burnt the entire forest to make sure that nobody else got a specimen. Most of these flowers died on the long voyage back to Europe or were eaten by rats on the ship. That some of the species were able to survive and grow in Europe is no credit to how the Europeans cared for the Orchid flowers but to the hardiness of Orchids themselves. Europeans tried to grow the erstwhile outdoor plants in an extremely hot environment, known as ‘stove houses’. That some of the Orchids survived in these less than natural conditions only goes to prove how they can adapt to changing climes and conditions. Napoleon’s consort paid 18,000 francs for one Orchid flower! They were the rarest and most expensive of all flowers. Even as late as 1901, nine orchid hunters went into the forests of Philippines and only one came out alive with Orchids. The rest had been eaten by ferocious animals, burnt alive or vanished without a trace. In 2000, a young botanist and Orchid hunter, Tom Hart Dyke, was captured by Colombian rebels and was only released after nine months.
A roman legend has it that Venus, the Goddess of love was in a forest with her lover Adonis when a thunderstorm came upon them, they ran to a cave to seek shelter and in the process Venus lost her slipper which was made of gold. When the Thunderstorm passed by a mere mortal spotted this slipper and upon attempting to pick it up, it turned into the ‘lady’s slipper Orchid’ which was golden in color. The Maoris of New Zealand believed that the Orchids were a direct descendant of the beautiful rainbow!
Geschenkideen