What Is Special About Orchids?

Bloomers

• Perhaps because of their wide range of relatives, orchids are sometime considered persnickety bloomers. In fact, there are species which can flower for up to six months. The common Cattleya stays abloom only a few weeks, but the lady's slipper lasts for four to six weeks, and the Dendrobium stays in bloom for between eight to 10 weeks. And the Phalaenopsis, or “moth orchids,” can flower for months. But there are also orchids that bloom for mere hours and under cloak of darkness. The Bulbophyllum nocturnum opens in the evening but closes as daylight returns.

Aphrodisiac

• The word "orchid" comes from the Greek word meaning testicle, so named for the shape of its root. In Ancient Greece, the orchid was believed to be an aphrodisiac. More recently, a 2013 paper published in the International Journal of Impotence Research found that chemicals derived from an epiphytic orchid, Vanda tessellata (Roxb.) ex Don, induced “aphrodisiac activity.”

Medicine

• Orchids have been valued for medicinal purposes for centuries. Particularly in Eastern medicine, they are believed to possess a wide range of curative properties. Often combined with acupuncture and meditative remedies in Chinese medicine, derivatives from orchids are believed by some to offer relief from digestive maladies, diabetes, fever, high blood pressure and illness of the kidneys, lungs and stomach. Orchid-based teas and medicines are even used in the treatment of some cancers. Although many Western medical experts point to the lack of extensive efficacy testing on orchid-base medicines and their Chinese medicinal uses, “the alkaloids in orchids may have biological actions” and do have some therapeutic use, according to the results of a study published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine in 2007.

Distribution and Longevity

• Orchids are everywhere -- or nearly. Often considered tropical blooms, orchids are nonetheless found on every continent except Antarctica. And some of their species can live up to 100 years. Additionally, a 2007 discovery of fossilized bee pollen by biologists at Harvard University led them to conclude that orchids may have existed some 80 million years ago.