Mary Patton, age 13, of Baltimore, Md., for her question:
ARE THERE MANY KINDS OF ORCHIDS?
One of the most beautiful flowers in the world is the orchid. Orchids grow wild in almost every part of the world. The only place you won't find them is in Antarctica and in some of the most arid desert zones of the Old World. It has been estimated that the number of orchid species varies from 15,000 to 35,000.
Largest number of orchid varieties can be found in the tropical regions of the world.
Every kind of orchid is fertilized by pollen carried by a particular kind of insect. The size and shape of an orchid's blossom are suited to that insect. Special markings on the flower guide the insect toward the nectar inside the blossom.
As the insect approaches the nectar in the orchid, it brushes against pollen sacs in the blossom. Some of the pollen, and even the sacs themselves, may stick to the insect and be carried to another orchid of the same species. This process assures cross fertilization within each kind of orchid.
Orchids are distinguished from other orders of flowering plants by a combination of floral characteristics rather than by a single characteristic unique to the group. Orchid flowers are borne on stalks called pedicels. During the growth of the flower, the pedicel rotates 180 degrees so that the mature orchid flower is borne upside down.
Each orchid blossom has three sepals and three petals. The petals range in color from white to deep violet and may be speckled or streaked. One petal, called the lip, always has a special shape. It may be long and narrow, wide with a ring, or shaped like a pouch.
Not satisfied with the tremendous natural variety of orchid flowers, growers have reproduced thousands of new forms through hybridization.
About half of all orchids in the wilds are epiphytic, which means they grow on other giants for support only, but some are parasitic and others live on decaying vegetation.
The lip of the lady's slipper orchid is shaped like a pouch or slipper. This orchid grows in the forests and swamps of the United States.
Blossoms of the butterfly orchid of Britain look like white butterflies with red spots.
Early Spaniards named the Holy Ghost orchid. They believed the blossoms of this flower were sacred because they looked like the holy does that flew down at the baptism of Christ.
In cool regions orchids grow in the ground, but in tropical lands, many kinds grow high on the branches of trees.
Raising orchids is a hobby that fascinates many people. They collect beautiful orchids from many parts of the world and often build special greenhouse: to raise them. Some orchids require six or seven years from the planting until they produce blossoms.
Vanilla flavoring is obtained from fruits of Vanilla planifolia, an orchid that is widely grown in tropical areas.