subject: The Long And Unusual History Of The Orchid Plant [print this page] Orchids do have a long and somewhat strange history. First of all, it's very strange as to how its name came about. Around 1845, John Lindley coined the name of the orchid from the Greek word orkhis which means testicle. He believed that the twin roots of the orchid resembled a man's testicles. Since the plant was relatively undiscovered and considered extremely exotic, the name stuck.
Many cultures have been enjoying a variety of orchids for centuries and even thousands of years. The Japanese regarded the orchid as an artistic expression of beauty. Orchids were used for decorations and employed in artistic designs on walls, pillars, and even jewelry. The Greek and Roman people of earlier times considered the orchid to be sacred and represented love, sexuality, and virility.
In early Greek times, the orchid was considered to determine the sex of an unborn child. The expecting father would eat the large tubers of the orchid if the couple wanted a male child. The expecting mother would eat the small tubers of the orchid if they wanted a female child. Orchid tubers are sections of the plant that store nutrients for dry periods and winter months. I guess they never kept statistics to determine if that method of predicting the sex of an unborn was reliable or not, but none-the-less, the orchid played an important role in their culture and social existence.
Long ago people held the notion that orchids held extremely powerful sexual inducement properties. Many scholars of the time believed that orchids grew in areas where wild animals bred, enhancing and bringing out strong sexual desire and greater breeding capabilities among the animals.
An old Mexican story mentions that two young lovers were killed by the gods for trying to elope. On the very spot where the lovers fell, an orchid grew that resembled the embrace of the young male and female couple.
Throughout the world, there are close to 35,000 different species of orchids, and over 100,000 hybrids. Hybrid numbers are just an estimate because orchid lovers are cross-breeding and producing new hybrids every day. Hybrid variations first became popular in the nineteenth century, largely among the wealthy.
Orchids are perennial herbs of which the Vanilla Orchid is prized for its famed vanilla bean used for flavoring. Orchids are also popular because of their unique fragrance, and have been used to make perfumes for centuries. The scent from these exotic flowers is extremely variable and range from having a subtle fragrance to a very strong fragrance. They can also take on aromas that simulate fruit and other plants such as raspberry, lemon, orange, and even chocolate.
Orchids certainly do have a long and strange history. They have been used as a sexual educed drug, a source of food, a symbol of beauty, a model for design, spiritual charms, and even medicine. What other flower has such a unique and diverse history. The fact that it does have a unique history, that it's indigenously grown in tropical areas of the world, and the fact that there are so many species of this beautiful plant, make it a favorite of home gardeners and experts alike.
