Peter is the former president and CEO of the Orchid Conservation Alliance, former chair, San Diego County Orchid Society Conservation Committee; member, Orchid Specialist Group, IUCN; former Board Member, Orchid Digest; recipient Orchid Digest Medal of Honor, 2018., La Jolla, CA. Orchid interests: Conservation, landscaping with orchids, orchid focused ecotourism.

They are extraordinary: orchids are among the most beautiful, intricate, and altogether fascinating flowers in nature. How did they originate? Why are they so popular? And why is their survival in danger?

The American Orchid Society provides a clear basic description of the orchid—including its complicated system of reproduction.

To begin: the orchid family (Orchidaceae) is the largest flowering plant family on earth with about 28,000 species. It is also one of the oldest plant families – developing about 100-125 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous Period. To put that into perspective, that means that orchids existed with the dinosaurs! Being so old, orchids have had plenty of time to develop into a diverse plant family with special pollinator/environmental relationships. Today orchids grow on every continent (except Antarctica). There are orchids of every color, fragrance, size, and shape imaginable. Orchids are definitely a case of too many possibilities and too little time to collect them all!

Most flowers are actinomorphic, meaning they have radial (outward spreading) symmetry. Orchids are, with a few exceptions, “zygomorphic”--they have bi-lateral symmetry. Look at the diagram of the cattleya orchid below, and you can almost see the "fold line" in the middle of the flower. Also, all orchids have three sepals (leaf-like structure enclosing petals). Some orchids may only look like they have two sepals because the two lateral sepals are fused, but this is because over time one of the petals has evolved into a labellum or lip. The size, shape, and color of an orchid's sepals, petals, and lip are determined by the specific pollinator the orchid is trying to attract. These pollinators can be as small as fungus gnat or as large as a bat.   See diagrams below.

Orchids can be propagated asexually or sexually. Asexual methods include vegetative propagation, backbulb cultivation, or simply dividing a large sympodial orchid. For sexual propagation, orchids have a structure, called a column, that has the stigma and anther fused as a single unit. A "cap" covers the pollina in the anther to help prevent self-pollination.

Orchid pollen is not a loose, powdery substance: it’s contained in tiny sacs that sit on top of little sticks. The arrangement sort of looks like tiny "Tootsie Pops". Once an orchid is pollinated, it will produce a seed capsule which contains up to tens of thousands of "naked" seeds, ones that do not have any endosperm. For these seeds to germinate, they must land in a location that has the correct environmental conditions and the correct fungus. The fungus is necessary to produce the nutrients for the burgeoning embryos.

If you’re getting the impression that orchids have evolved into a complicated (and impressive) flower, you’re right.  Check on our website for a link to a good glossary of parts and terms.

Peter can answer your questions about the particulars of orchid appreciation and breeding!

To round out Peter’s presentation, here is some additional background about the relationship between orchids and humans over time.

The orchid flower has fascinated humans since ancient times. And rightfully so. If you’ve seen an orchid up close, it comes as no surprise that, over time, the orchid flower has developed special meaning and symbolism in a variety of cultures. Like us, people throughout history have marveled at the orchid and its truly spectacular blooms. 

From the Mediterranean cliffs of ancient Greece to the dry desert of Aztec civilizations, orchid flowers have inspired myths, legends, and cultural traditions that helped shape the everyday lives of people throughout the world. 

Though some documents recording the cultural significance of orchids have yet to be discovered, there is a wealth of information to suggest that the orchid flower was highly meaningful to a variety of ancient and modern cultures. Here is a sampling how the orchid flower made its way into ancient Greek, Roman, Chinese, Japanese, and Aztec cultures.

Ancient Greece

As early as the 4th century BCE, an ancient Greek botanist named Theophrastos stumbled upon an orchid and named the flower órkhis—a Greek word meaning “testes” since he thought the bulbous tubers resembled male genitalia. 

Since then, the orchid became a symbol of virility for the Greeks. It was not uncommon for people to eat parts of the orchid; they were believed to have powerful aphrodisiac qualities. 

In common tradition, ancient Greeks believed that eating an orchid’s tubers could determine the sex of an unborn child. If the father ate the orchid’s large root tubers, the child would be a boy. If the mother ate the orchid’s small root tubers, the child would be a girl. 

[Interesting website below]

The orchid plant has also been linked to the Greek myth of Orchis. The story details how Orchis, the son of a nymph and a satyr, took advantage of Maenad, a female follower of Dionysus; for this, he was punished and torn apart by wild beasts. From the earth where Orchis was killed sprang many slender orchid flowers, all said to have germinated from his blood. 

Ancient Rome

Floral elements of several orchid species have been observed in cornice and ceilings of Roman architecture. Perhaps the most famous example of orchids appearing in Roman art is the Ara Pacis, or “the altar to peace,” erected by Augustus in 9 BCE. When studied in detail, the frieze boasts about 90 different orchid species. Researchers and art scholars suggest the orchid flowers were used as symbols of celebration, rebirth, and prosperity. 

Interestingly, orchid representation in medieval art is rare. Some scholars think this is due to religious efforts to eliminate pagan elements linked to aphrodisiac power and luxury, like the orchid flower. Orchids do, however, make a reappearance in Renaissance artwork with the rediscovery of ancient Roman culture. 

Ancient China

The oldest known recorded reference to the orchid plant species was made by Shen Nung, known as the Father of Chinese Medicine, around 2695 BCE. Since then, orchids have been grown in Chinese cultures for their medicinal properties and fragrance. 

Confucius, a famous Chinese philosopher, had a special affection for cymbidium orchids. There’s evidence that Confucious cared for the cymbidiums in his own garden, and some of his poetry references the orchid flower directly. 

One quote attributed to Confucius reads: “If you are in the company of good people, it is like entering a room full of orchids” (translated by Alice Poon). 

Even today, orchids are symbols of scholarly pursuit, nobility, integrity, and friendship in Chinese cultures. 

The Aztecs

In present-day Mexico, Aztec civilizations made great use of native orchid plants. The Aztecs revered the wild orchids for their beauty, but they also saw the utility in the unique plants. 

Aztecs were among the first people in the region to discover the flavorful qualities of the vanilla orchid. They were known to make a beverage by mixing orchid vanilla with chili and chocolate. 

Aztec civilizations also used native orchid flowers as medicine. Records show that they used various parts of the orchid plant to heal sores and burns, soothe a bad cough, and to help ease symptoms of dysentery.

Some orchids were even harvested and processed to make a glue-like adhesive substance. Native orchids were stripped, dried, and then soaked in water to form a sticky, mucus-like gel used to repair items.  

This more modern history (by Ron McHattan) shows how the orchid’s popularity increased in the late 1880s, and how the passion for orchids continues to evolve.

By the start of the 18th century, orchid collecting was firmly established in many parts of the world, but, arguably, the event that set fire to the “orchidmania” of the latter half of the 19th century and through the 20th century was the flowering in 1823 of what has become known as the Queen of Orchids, Cattleya labiata.

Although it would be 65 years before this species was located again, the plate touched off a mania that resulted in the collection and description of most of the other species in the genus. In Belgium and England especially, vast quantities of tropical orchids from the new colonies were introduced for auction to those wealthy enough to own greenhouses. A commercial orchid nursery in England had two railway sidings that were in use day and night, unloading plants that had been rushed from the docks at Southampton and Liverpool.

At first, raising hybrids was a slow, hit-or-miss process, because doing so depended on chance germination on the potting medium of the mother plant. Eventually, two European scientists, working independently, developed a process to germinate seeds in a sterile medium containing a culture of the appropriate fungus. Time-consuming and technically difficult, this, too, was destined to change. In the early 1920s, Lewis C. Knudson of Cornell University discovered a relatively simple, easily followed process to grow thousands of seedlings under sterile conditions. The rest is, as they say, history.

The Modern Age of Orchids

Today’s modern age of orchids was ushered in during the 1960s with the development of techniques to rapidly produce large quantities of vegetatively propagated plants—carbon copies, if you will. This process is commonly referred to as mericloning. Thousands of mericlones can be raised; barring genetic mutations, each is identical to the mother plant from which the original tissue was harvested. The result? Today it is possible to buy, at almost any outlet, plants of such high quality that they would have fetched hundreds of dollars only a few decades ago.

The Future of Orchids

No one really has a crystal ball, but one development we are already seeing is genetic modification of orchids to introduce features not normally present. For instance, there is no true blue pigment in the genus Phalaenopsis—those gaudy blue phals you see in grocery stores today are dyed, just like carnations. However, researchers in Asia recently debuted an intensely blue-flowered phalaenopsis hybrid resulting from genetic modification. What is next? Perhaps glow-in-the-dark flowers?

The future of the orchid is a relevant note to end on.

As Peter will tell us, the orchids need our help. While there is no lack of orchid plants available retail (even at your local Trader Joe’s), orchids in the wild are in peril. Deforestation, development, and pollution are threatening the orchid’s natural habitats.

In 2004 Peter and several colleagues started The Orchid Conservation Alliance (OCA) A more detailed account of the history was published in Orchid Digest in 2019. Currently the OCA has a mailing list of over 700 members and about 25 orchid societies.

The focus of the OCA has been to raise money to conserve land in orchid-rich regions of the world. Since its inception, the OCA has raised over $650,000 to support the creation or expansion of 7 orchid reserves, and preserved nearly 4600 acres of pristine, primary biodiverse orchid rich habitats.

The Orchid Conservation Alliance partners with organizations and foundations in orchid rich regions to protect the native habitats of orchids. Creating reserves preserves numerous orchid species, often including undiscovered forms, as well as the ecosystem in which they exist. Critical for orchid conservation in the wild, preservation of habitat protects pollinators as well as birds, amphibians, mammals, other plants, and even fungi.

Through partnerships with local organizations and foundations, the Orchid Conservation Alliance has preserved nearly 4600 acres of pristine, biodiverse orchid rich habitat. To date, these reserves have been created in Ecuador, Colombia and Brazil, and we are open to supporting the creation of reserves in other orchid rich regions of the world.

Lots more information about the Orchid Conservation Alliance is at www.orchidconservationalliance.org.  Information about how to grow orchids can be found at www.aos.org. In San Diego the local orchid society is San Diego County Orchid Society, www.Sdorchids.com; they meet monthly in Balboa park. In North County the local orchid society is the Palomar Orchid Society, www.palomarorchid.org; they meet monthly in Carlsbad.

If you’re already an orchid enthusiast, maybe you’ll learn something you didn’t know! And if you’re new to the orchid world, as you can see, there is much to discover!

Akin, C. (2020). The Orchid Flower: A History of Meaning Across 6 Cultures. Retrieved from https://orchidresourcecenter.com/the-orchid-flower-a-history-of-meaning-across-6-cultures/

Dillon, L. (2022). Orchidelirium: The Victorian Madness for Orchids at Any Price. Retrieved from

https://www.historicmysteries.com/history/orchidelirium/28119/

Historic Mysteries.

Introduction to Orchids. (2024). Retrieved from https://www.aos.org

McHattan, R. (2017). History of Orchids. Retrieved from https://fairchildgarden.org/visit/history-of-orchids/