We are very grateful to the Biom Association for their permission to use the article and pictures here.
THE ORCHID, QUEEN OF PLANTS
Orchids make up one of the largest and most interesting plant families, the Orchidaceae. Although there are about twenty to thirty thousand species in close to one thousand genera according to current records, new species and hybrids are discovered almost on a daily basis, adding to the rich palette of these exquisite flowers.
Orchids are true world travellers! They spread almost throughout the whole world, apart from the extreme polar and desert areas. The largest concentration is in the Himalayan regions of Nepal and they can also be found in the tropical areas of Asia, South and Central America and even as far as the Arctic Circle in Patagonia.
However, most often when people talk generally about orchids they are thinking of the cultivated types and varieties which we buy in flower shops. Many people are not aware that orchids are not just a few species from far-off rain forests: almost 200 varieties and sub-varieties of wild orchids grow in Croatia! As a result, Croatia is ranked at the top of European countries for the wealth of its orchids, boasting 19 endemic varieties. Orchids grow in widely differing habitats, from damp meadows in low-lying areas to woodlands and scrublands. Mostly they are to be found on dry grasslands. They are all strictly protected and it is forbidden to pick, collect, destroy or uproot them. They are under threat from neglected, untended grasslands which turn into scrublands, habitat destruction and picking.
To focus a little more on Croatia's own orchids and their collaboration with other species: not all orchids are as good as they might appear at first! Some orchids live solely off other plants and fungi, having no leaves and doing without photosynthesis: they thrive as parasites, stealing nutrition and water from other plants, so that all that is left for them to do is to create seeds in order to ensure they have future descendants. Croatia's parasitic orchids mainly belong in three genera, Neottia, Serapias and Limodorum.
From the botanists' point of view, orchids are one of the most widespread of the evolutionary younger groups of plants and they give rise to many interesting stories. Orchids are mainly pollinated by insects and they have perfected their ability to attract insects through their scents, shapes and colours. They have achieved an unbelievably high level of collaboration with insects: orchids try, in the main successfully, to ensure that insects carry the pollen from flower to flower practically without losing a single pollen grain. Sweet nectar is the reward which the insects receive in return. Chemical substances produced by orchids mimicking insect pheromes can be so like the real thing that insects are fooled into thinking they have found another insect to mate with, which is a powerful motivator for performing the service of pollinating the flowers.
Many orchids in Croatia belong to the genus Ophrys, within which there are also endemic species. Thanks to their efficient pollen transfer combined with 'well prepared ground' in the form of the large number of seed embryos contained in the orchid pistils, orchids as a result produce exceptionally large numbers of seeds. Here orchids rely on quantity more than quality, so the seeds are extremely tiny. They almost always germinate in connexion with establishing mycorrhiza, that is in conjunction with fungi which give the seedlings sufficient energy for development. This is necessary because the seeds from the parent plants are sent into the world with minimal nutrients. To get a clearer picture of just how tiny orchid seeds are, think of the type of vanilla sugar which comes as a black 'pod': this is actually a pouch containing thousands of minuscule black seeds that we use as a spice - and the natural aroma of vanilla is derived from the tropical orchid species Vanilla planifolia.
Nature-lovers in ever-increasing numbers are seeking out wild orchids in grasslands, woods and thickets, looking to enjoy the beauty of these colourful and interesting plants. They find specially interesting flowers among species from the genera Orchis, Ophrys, Dactylorhiza, Himantoglossum and Cypripedium calceolus.
DID YOU KNOW?
* A hot, sweet drink called salep (sahlep, sahlab), which is very popular in the Near East, is made from the dried, ground tubers of the orchid genus Orchis.
* The orchid is considered to be the queen of flowers, a title accorded by the Chinese philosopher Confucius. In Ancient China orchids were being used for medicinal purposes as long ago as 700 years before Christ.
* The name orchid is derived from the Greek ὄρχις, meaning testicle, because of the two tubers from which the upright plant emerges.
A PLEA: TAKE CARE OF CROATIA'S WILD ORCHIDS
Spring is the time when most of our country's wild orchids flower, with the peak during April and May. When you go out into nature, please photograph and take note of the ones you see. If you have a garden, orchard or field, we have an extra request: wait at least until the end of May before strimming in order to allow orchids and other wild flowers to set seed and so guarantee their next generation. This will also ensure the food source for the pollinating insects which have been collaborating with plants for hundreds of thousands of years, thus providing us humans with plentiful harvests of various fruits and vegetables - without these insects the harvests would be reduced to almost nothing!
© BIOM, translated by Viviasn Grisogono MA (Oxon)
Relevant articles of interest:
Ljiljana Borovečki-Vosak, Berislav Horvatic. 2020. Orhidejski hibridi (Orchidaceae) na otoku Krku. Orchid hybrids (Orchidceae) on the Island of Krk. Glasnik hrvatskog botaničkog društva. (Article in Croatian)
Frank Verhart: Orchid observations in Croatia in 2017 and 2018: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tqx1iIJUFLN8H7LJlFTkvlD6YhdzfsmJ/edit
Frank Verhart: 2017. Orchids on Pelješac. Eco Hvar website.
Frank Verhart. Orchid observations in Croatia in 2019. http://www.franknature.nl/Verhart%20orchid%20observations%20in%20Croatia%20in%202019.pdf
Grace Brewer. February 2024. Sneaky orchids and their pollination tricks. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Blog article.
