Orchid

For the color, see Orchid (color). For other uses, see Orchid (disambiguation).

Orchid
Temporal range: 80–0 Ma Late Cretaceous – Present
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Juss.[1]
Type genus
Orchis
Subfamilies
Distribution range of family Orchidaceae

Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (/ˌɔːrkɪˈdeɪsi.iː, -si.aɪ/),[2] a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Earth except glaciers. The world's richest diversity of orchid genera and species is found in the tropics.

Orchidaceae is one of the two largest families of flowering plants, along with the Asteraceae. It contains about 28,000 currently accepted species distributed across 763 genera.[3][4]

The Orchidaceae family encompasses about 6–11% of all species of seed plants.[5] The largest genera are Bulbophyllum (2,000 species), Epidendrum (1,500 species), Dendrobium (1,400 species) and Pleurothallis (1,000 species). It also includes Vanilla (the genus of the vanilla plant), the type genus Orchis, and many commonly cultivated plants such as Phalaenopsis and Cattleya. Moreover, since the introduction of tropical species into cultivation in the 19th century, horticulturists have produced many hybrids and cultivars.

  1. ^ Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2009). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 161 (2): 105–121. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x. hdl:10654/18083.
  2. ^ Gove, Philip B., ed. (1961). Webster's Third New International Dictionary. G. & C. Merriam.
  3. ^ Christenhusz, M. J. M. & Byng, J. W. (2016). "The number of known plants species in the world and its annual increase". Phytotaxa. 261 (3): 201–217. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.261.3.1.
  4. ^ "WCSP". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Retrieved 2 April 2010. (See External links below).
  5. ^ Yohan Pillon & Mark W. Chase (2007). "Taxonomic exaggeration and its effects on orchid conservation". Conservation Biology. 21 (1): 263–265. Bibcode:2007ConBi..21..263P. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2006.00573.x. PMID 17298532. S2CID 30157588.