An Odyssey of Orchids at the United States Botanic Garden, Part 1

BARBARA KLEIN: This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Barbara Klein. STEVE EMBER: And I'm Steve Ember. Today we tell about the beauty and science of orchids, some of nature's most interesting flowers. BARBARA KLEIN: Many people think of orchids as beautiful, sweet smelling, costly flowers that grow in hot tropical forests. But that is not the whole story of orchids. Some of the plants are found above the Arctic Circle. Some have an unpleasant smell. Not every species is lovely. And if you want to buy an orchid, it will cost a lot less than it once did. Orchids are among the most common plant groups in the world. But some orchids that grow naturally are in danger of disappearing from Earth. At the same time, orchids produced in factories have become an important greenhouse crop. Orchid industry sales are especially important to places like the Netherlands, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. People enjoy orchids as decorative plants and cut flowers. STEVE EMBER: Orchids come in all shapes, sizes, designs, colors and color combinations. The flowers may be tiny or large. But most have some common characteristics. The sepals of an orchid form the outside of the bud before the flower opens. There also are two regular petals. The third petal is the lip. Orchids share this structure with lilies and irises. For reproduction, orchid flowers have male and female parts joined into one structure. The structure is called the column. The column is the most important quality that identifies the orchid family. Not all orchids grow from the ground. Some are "air plants" that grow on trees. Unlike parasites, however, they do not rob the trees of nutrition. Source: Voice of America