The Pollinator's Guide to Orchids
What are orchids? Where do they grow?
Hello there!
I was just pollinating this orchid (Darwin's Orchid, or Angraecum sesquipedale ), but the fine people at Smithsonian Gardens asked me to tell all of you about orchids, so I'm going to take a break to do just that! You may be surprised that I'm a moth - a Xanthopan or sphinx moth - but many critters pollinate orchids.
What pollinates orchids?
What is an orchid?
Now that you've learned about all these orchids and pollinators, you might be wondering, "Just what is an orchid?"
Flowers of Cattleya maxima , or the Greatest Cattleya
Where do orchids grow?
Now that we know all about what orchids are and the crafty pollinators that help them grow, you must be wondering, where do orchids grow?
Orchids grow everywhere!
Click around the map below to explore some of the places orchids grow. The greatest orchid diversity is in western South America. The lowest orchid diversity is in the subantarctic islands.
Wherever they grow around the world, orchids grow in three different ways...
Flowers of Cattleya Love Knot , a cattleya hybrid
Many people, organizations, and pollinators (especially pollinators!) love orchids. Orchid enthusiasts have created more than 100,000 orchid cultivars and hybrids! At Smithsonian Gardens, they're doing their part by conserving thousands of orchid species plants for pollinators like me, and caring for thousands of orchid hybrid plants to display to the public.
A view inside Smithsonian Gardens' orchid greenhouses
Learn More
If you want to learn more about caring for orchids, check out some of the great resources from Smithsonian Gardens below!
