((PKG)) FLOWERS
((Banner: Flowers))
((Reporter/Camera: Zdenko Novacki))
((Additional Camera: Philip Alexiou))
((Map: Washington, D.C.))
((Banner: A temporary Smithsonian exhibition brings together hundreds of orchids, showing their stunning variety))
((NATS))
((Melanie Pyle, Horticulturalist, Smithsonian Gardens)) Orchids, as a family of flowers and plants, is the largest, one of the largest plant families there is, and it's extremely diverse in the very shapes and sizes and environments that they live in.
((NATS))
((Melanie Pyle, Horticulturalist, Smithsonian Gardens))
Orchids can be found all over the world and on every continent except for Antarctica. The majority of the family is located around the equator, in tropical regions, but they can be anywhere.
((NATS))
((Melanie Pyle, Horticulturalist, Smithsonian Gardens))
Their ability to adapt to this variety of environments that makes them unique.
((NATS))
((Melanie Pyle, Horticulturalist, Smithsonian Gardens))
This is known as Pansy orchid, because the face of the flower is very similar to those of a pansy. These guys are very fragrant but very difficult for the homeowner to grow because they need cold conditions.
((NATS))
((Melanie Pyle, Horticulturalist, Smithsonian Gardens)) This variety of orchids is known as the Lady Slipper. This right here is again the labellum, the modified petal, and it looks like a Lady Slipper, hence the name. People mistake these for carnivorous plants because this bucket here is where the insect will enter, but they will not be eaten like they would in a carnivorous plant.
((NATS))
((Melanie Pyle, Horticulturalist, Smithsonian Gardens))
So, this again is another example of an epiphyte or an epiphytic plant because it grows in the branches of trees and is a beautiful display of purple. And the insect actually enters right there, and will get pollen attached to his back that comes from right there and fly to another orchid.
((NATS))
((Melanie Pyle, Horticulturalist, Smithsonian Gardens)) There are probably about 27,000 different species but then, when you talk about how many hybrids there are, which are plants that are created by our hands, it’s hundreds of thousands.
((NATS))
