Orchids Are More Common than You Think!

In America, people tend to think of orchids as rare and fragile; but they are actually among the most numerous species on Earth. With approximately 25,000 known species and more than 100,000 hybrids and cultivars, botanists believe that orchids may be the largest family of flowering plants on the planet. Comprising an estimated 10% of all seed plants, orchid species outnumber bird species by 2 to 1 and mammals by 4 to 1.

Orchids are found on nearly every continent and in a surprising range of environments from the hot, fetid swamps of Florida to the cold, windy slopes of the Andes Mountains. The only place that orchids cannot grow is on glaciers, and the only places where these unique flowers have not been found are the frozen ice fields of Antarctica and the icy northern regions of Greenland, Canada and Siberia that skirt the Arctic Circle. Everywhere else in the world, no matter how unlikely it may seem, orchids can be counted among the native flora. Orchids have been found growing in the Alaskan tundra, above the Arctic Circle in Greenland, in the mountains of Patagonia on the southern tip of South America, and on Macquarie Island half-way between New Zealand and Antarctica.

While orchid species have adapted to survive to some remarkably harsh environments, the majority of orchid species are native to tropical areas of Asia, Central and South America and Africa. In each of these areas dwell an average 230 to 300 different orchid species. Despite the plant’s proliferation in tropical climates, the remote Himalayan region of Nepal claims the greatest concentration of orchid species in the world.

Fortunately, you don’t have to travel far to enjoy orchids’ exotic beauty. Just Add Ice Orchids  are available at local groceries, home and garden centers and discount stores. Find a store near you!

Photo by: alantankenghoe