Where Orchids Originally Came From
By Orchid Geeks, Tue Jan 10th
Where did orchids originate? One may as well ask where manoriginated, for like man, the ubiquitous orchid is found onnearly every continent in nearly every climate. Also like man,the orchid has a myriad varieties and forms - so many that onebotanist has stated, "There is no such thing as a typicalorchid."
There are over 30,000 varieties of orchid not including manmadehybrids. Most people think of orchids as tropical plants, butthere are mentions of orchids in Chinese writings as early as500 B.C. In the Western world, the Greek botanist Theophrastusmentioned Orchis in manuscripts around 300 B.C. An Aztec herbaldating from the 1600s mentions vanilla, a type of orchid. FromEgypt to the Americas, from the South Seas to the mountains ofSwitzerland, there are native varieties of orchids that grow inthe woods, the rain forests, the mountains and even the seashore.
The modern day history of orchid cultivation, however, begins inthe 1880s when William Cattley of England received a shipment ofornamental plants from the Brazilian jungles. The plants werepacked in bulbs of another plant for protection, and out ofcuriosity, Cattley placed
