Discussion

Orchids

The two largest families of flowering plants are Asteraceae and Orchidaceae. Based on current figures, Asteraceae is the largest family with over 32,000 known species spread across 1,900 genera. In comparison, Orchidaceae currently has over 28,000 species grouped within 763 genera. While Asteraceae appears to be the larger family, there is still uncertainty about which family is really the largest because no one knows how many species in each family remain unidentified. New species are continually being identified.

Sunflowers, daisies, and asters are representative examples of some types of Asteraceae.

This Green Hybrid Phalaenopsis is representative of most orchids.

Though similar to most orchids, this basic shape is still subject to considerable variety. Here are just a few other orchids.

Beyond the 28,000 orchid species currently known to occur naturally, horticulturalists have produced over 100,000 more orchid hybrids and cultivars.

Here is a general orchid anatomy. An orchid's reproductive organs are located inside the labellum.

Various parts of orchid plants are edible by humans depending on the species. The blossoms are always edible. They can be used as garnishes, salad ingredients, and tea. They are said to have a fresh and crisp taste similar to leafy vegetables. Some people like to use them for edible cake decorations.

The stems of the Dendrobuim orchid genus, consisting of over 1,000 species, have been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat cancer, improve eyesight, relieve headaches, ease convulsions, and boost the immune system. This is one of the Dendrobuim species.

Dendrobuim stems are still used in China today for tea. They are also used in sauce recipes and stir fry dishes. In Thailand, dendrobuim blossoms are dipped in a flour and egg batter and deep-fried to make snacks. Orchid ice cream is popular in Turkey.

None of the seed pods produced by orchids are edible except for one; Vanilla planifolia. That orchid is where vanilla beans come from.

Shunran (Cymbidium goeringii)

Orchids are the painting subjects for this week and next. Two specific species are among the shikunshi subjects. Their respective Japanese names are shunran and keiran. Keiran will covered next week.

The common name for shunran is noble orchid. Its name's literal meaning in Japanese is spring orchid.

Here is a closer look at the labellum.

Shunran blossoms have a strong scent that resembles lemon, lily of the valley, or jasmine. They are perennials that bloom in the spring in pine forests and other wooded areas. The blossom is about 2 inches in diameter. A single blossom grows at the top of a stem.

The stem rises from base of narrow, sword-like leaves that are typically 6- to 18-inches in length and .2- to .4 inches wide.

Various species of the Cymbidium genus of orchids are epiphytic (grow on plants but are not parasitic). lithophytic (grow on rocks), or terrestrial (grow on the ground). Shunran are terrestrial. As shunran grow year after year, their root systems expand as new stems appear annually.

Left to themselves, shunran grow into large clumps with over a dozen flowering stems. Commercial growers most commonly propagate new shunran by breaking apart well developed root balls like this and replanting them. Shunran can also be grown from seeds. After blossoms are gone, seed pods remain.

Artwork

Suzuki Harunobu (c. 1725 – 1770)

Harunobu was the first artist to apply recently developed full color printing technology (nishiki-e) to ukiyo-e prints in 1765. Other artists soon followed suit, making a significant change in popular Japanese print art. Harunobu was also a good artist, and he was very prolific during the five remaining years of his life. The print below is a parody on the Nō play, Hakurakuten (Two Figures Standing in Boats). A Chinese scholar holds up an ink orchid painting, and a Japanese girl holds up a hanging scroll (kakejiku) of a Harunobu print.

Taikan Yokoyama (1868 – 1958)

After Japan opened to the rest of the world at the end of the Edo Period (1603 - 1868), Japanese artists, exposed to Western style perspective painting, rushed to adopt to the new, to them, techniques. Not all Japanese artists felt that this was a good thing. Movements arose to restore traditional values to Japanese art. For woodblock prints, this was called shin-hanga (new prints). A similar movement arose for more conventional ink paintings on paper and silk. This movement called itself nihonga (literally Japanese paintings). Taikan was one of the masters of the nihonga movement. He frequently experimented with a combination of traditional subjects and techniques, especially those of the Rinpa School, with the subtle use of Western perspective. The fan painting of Taikan's below is in a traditional style, but it is a fine shunran painting.

Tanigami Konan (1879 – 1928)

Little information is available about Konan's life. He was part of the shin-hanga (new prints) movement to restore the artistic values of Japan's ukiyo-e (pictures of the floating world) era from the Edo Period (1603 – 1868). His specialty was kachō-ga (birds and flowers pictures). He is best known for a series of illustrated flower books. Konan's Lady's Slipper orchids, below, was printed sometime in the 1910s.