Orchids - much more than pretty faces

With beautiful colour and flower shapes, orchids make a great display at ground level or growing as epiphytes .

Orchids in the Arctic! Despite their tropical image, some orchids grow in much cooler places - such as Norway.

One of the largest families in the plant kingdom, there are more than 25,000 species of orchid and 110,000 hybrids with more than 3,000 more added each year!

In 1889 the RHS Orchid Committee was formed. An artist named Nellie Roberts painted orchids for the Committee for 50 years. In the Lindley Library, there are over 6,000 paintings of orchids dating back to 1897.

Seventy percent of orchids are epiphytic, meaning they grow on other plants or lithophytic, growing on rocks.

Almost all orchids are fertilised by insects - many mimic the appearance of a female insect to attract males.

One of the world’s most popular food flavourings, vanilla extract, comes from the seed pods of an orchid.

Wild orchid collecting is illegal as it endangers many species. Only purchase plants from reputable sources.

Many orchids, particularly moth orchids ( Phalaenopsis ) are available as houseplants, but growing requirements can vary enormously. Overwatering is one of the most common ways of killing them.

The RHS manages the International Register of Orchid Hybrids. A list of new orchids can be obtained from the RHS publication The Orchid Review .

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