Thailand beautiful orchid photo #2

Aeung-pak-nok-gaew ( parrot's bill )

Local name : Aeung-din

appearance : this orchid has rootstock fastigiate leaf is like coconut's leaflet.
in dry season leaf is look shabby.

they ussaully grow in bent's grassland.
when dry season came after wildfire and rain fall they will leaf and crop up.

they flower allover grassland very very beautiful.
they blossom in june - july

source : bent's grassland on upland

Thailand beautiful orchid photo #1

Changkra

Changkra has the local name is Aeungtokto (scientific name : Rhynchostylis gigantea (Lindley) Ridley)

appearance has thick leaf and strong, 25-30 cm long 5-7cm width, the leaf apical has 2 jagged but each jagged diverge

root is prop root has big size the root apical is green








blossom size is in 2.5-3 cm top outside petal has width and long equal bottom outside pental but corolla is more slender than outside pental. cog pental is straightforward stretch apical of lip is thick strong and converge








apical of lip has 3 jagged 2 side jagged is bend and center jagged is smaller. blossom has very perfume and get over in december to february

Orchids in commerce

One orchid genus, Vanilla, is commercially important, used as a foodstuff flavoring, the source of vanilla. The underground tubers of terrestrial orchids are ground to a powder and used for cooking, such as in the hot beverage salep or the so-called "fox-testicle ice cream" salepi dondurma. The scent of orchids is frequently used by perfumists (using Gas-liquid chromatography) to identify potential fragrance chemicals. With these exceptions, orchids have virtually no commercial value other than for the enjoyment of the flowers (see also Botanical orchids).

There are a great number of tropical and subtropical orchids, and these are the most commonly known, as they are available at nurseries and through orchid clubs across the world. There are also quite a few orchids which grow in colder climates, although these are less often seen on the market. Temperate species available at nurseries include Ophrys apifera (bee orchid), Gymnadenia conopsea (fragrant orchid), Anacamptis pyramidalis (pyramidal orchid) and Dactylorhiza fuchsii (common spotted orchid).

The family of orchids is remarkably diverse. The plants found in "casual" culture, such as Phalaenopsis, Cattleya, Dendrobium, and so forth, represent a tiny fraction of the thousands of species of orchids. Also within the Orchidaceae are "leafless" orchids, which often appear as nothing more than masses of roots, achlorophyllous orchids that are entirely reliant upon their mycorrhizal symbiont for their nutrition, "jewel" orchids with foliage that is as pretty as their flowers, and so many others that are capable of affecting the most dedicated of growers very deeply. Ranging in size from tiny moss-like Pleurothallis species to massive (7 m) Grammatophyllum species in New Guinea, their beauty and sophistication have captivated many.

The National Orchid Garden in the Singapore Botanic Gardens is considered by some to be among the finest collections of orchids in cultivation open to the public.

Taiwan, the biggest orchid exporter in the world, establishes the Taiwan Orchid Plantation, a science-based industrial park, in 2004, to explore novel ways of growing and distributing orchids (see also botanical orchids). The renowned Taiwanese International Orchid Show, usually held in early March each year, is amongst the top three orchid exhibition in the world. Taiwan is particularly famous for the production of Phalaenopsis, and is a member of the International Phalaenopsis Alliance (IPA). The Taiwan Orchid Growers Association (TOGA), a NPO established in 2001, acts as a bridge between the government and the local orchid producers and distributors.

Orchids, like tulips, have become a major market throughout the world. Buyers now bid hundreds of dollars on new hybrids or improved ones. Because of their apparent ease in hybridization, they are now becoming one of the most popular cut-flowers on the market. Though orchid hybridization has been happening for many years, only recently has new technology made it into what it is.

Orchid

Orchidaceae or the Orchid family is the largest and most diverse of the flowering plant (Angiospermae) families, with over 800 described genera and 25,000 species. Some sources give 30,000 species, but the exact number is unknown since classification differs greatly in the academic world. There are another 100,000+ hybrids and cultivars produced by horticulturists, created since the introduction of tropical species in the 19th century. The Kew World Checklist of Orchids includes about 24,000 accepted species. About 800 new species are added each year. Orchids, through their interactions with pollinators and their symbiosis with orchid mycorrhizal fungi, are considered by some, along with the grasses, to be examples of the most advanced (derived) floral evolution known.


All orchid species are protected for the purposes of international commerce under CITES as potentially threatened or endangered in their natural habitat, with most species listed under Appendix II. A number of species and genera are afforded protection under Appendix I, including all Cypripedium, Mexipedium, Paphiopedilum, Phragmipedium, and Selenipedium species. Many other species are protected by both international and national legislation, and while hybrids are supposed to be specifically exempted, hybrid orchids are not allowed into the United States without a CITES permit. The reason that is given is that the authorities cannot distinguish the difference between hybrids and species.


Naming

The term 'orchid' derives from the Greek ορχις orchis, meaning "testicle", from the appearance of subterranean tuberoids of the genus Orchis. The word "orchis" was first used by Theophrastos (372/371 – 287/286 BC), in his book "De historia plantarum" (The natural history of plants). He was a student of Aristotle and is considered the father of botany and ecology.


Appearance and Structure

Orchids, like the grasses and the palms, which they resemble in some ways—for instance the form of their leaves—are monocotyledons. They have one cotyledon, or embryonic leaf, in contrast to the two of most flowering plants.
Orchids are cosmopolitan in distribution, occurring in every habitat, except Antarctica and deserts. The great majority are to be found in the tropics, mostly Asia, South America and Central America. They are found above the Arctic Circle, in southern Patagonia and even on Macquarie Island, close to Antarctica.


The following list gives a rough overview of their distribution:

Eurasia: 40–60 genera
North America: 20–30
genera tropical America: 300–350
genera tropical Africa: 125–150
genera tropical Asia: 250–300
genera Oceania: 50–70

genera Orchids can be grouped according to the way they retrieve nutrients:
A majority of species are perennial epiphytes; they are found in tropical moist broadleaf forests or mountains and subtropics. These are anchored on other plants, mostly trees, sometimes shrubs. However, they are not parasites.

A few are lithophytes, similar to epiphytes but growing naturally on rocks or on very rocky soil. They derive their nutrients from the atmosphere, rain water, litter, humus, and even their own dead tissue.

Others are terrestrial plants. They grow in the soil or in the loose substrate atop the ground and obtain their nutrients from the soil or the substrate. This group includes nearly all temperate orchids.

Some lack chlorophyll and are myco-heterotrophs (formerly incorrectly called saprophytes). These achlorophyllous orchids have an ectomycorrhizal relationship, i.e. they are completely dependent on soil fungi feeding on decaying plant matter (usually fallen leaves) to provide them with nutrients. Typical examples include the Bird's-nest Orchid (Neottia nidus-avis) and Spotted Coral-root (Corallorrhiza maculata).


Most advanced orchids have these five basic features:

The presence of a column, also called gynostemium.

The flower is bilaterally symmetric (zygomorphic).

The pollen are glued together into the pollinia, a mass of waxy pollen on filaments.

The seeds are microscopically small, lacking endosperm (food reserves) in the overall majority of the species. There are notable exceptions, such as Disa cardinalis, whose seeds may grow to a length of 1.1 mm. Seeds of Vanilla may weigh 20 times or more than that of other orchids.

The seeds can, under natural circumstances, only germinate in symbiosis with specialized fungi. Under artificial circumstances, however, germination is possible "in vitro" on sterile substrates of agar in specialized laboratories. Germinating seeds in agar, usually done in flasks, is an advanced technique, requiring sterility at all costs. It takes anywhere from one–up to five to ten years for an orchid seedling to mature. An alternative type artificial germination, however, is done by cultivating the fungus and sowing the seeds on them. This is called in-vitro symbiotic culture and is used most commonly for terrestrial orchids.