I have been having a love affair of late with orchids: the coloring, the yoni resemblance, and the beauty of their unique design. I realized, however, that I don't know much about these flowers, so I took it upon myself to do some research. I found out some interesting things about orchids, and let's be honest- what's knowledge without sharing it with others so they know how smart you are? Hopefully this list will come in handy if you're playing a trivia game, trying to impress a horticulturist (hell, I'm impressed if you know a horticulturist), or if you are held at gunpoint and forced to tell the most innocuous/useless bit of information you have stored in your grey matter:
1. The name orchid comes from the Greek root "orkis" meaning "testicle".
2. Hummingbirds are not attracted to orchids.
3. Vanilla is the only comestible orchid and the vanilla stick is the fermented and blackened pod of an orchid.
4. There are roughly 35,000 species of orchids in the world.
5. The movie Adaptation was based on the Susan Orlean book The Orchid Thief.
6. Moyobamba, Peru is known as the "City of Orchids" because there are about 3,500 species of orchid native to the area.
7. Orchids are one of the oldest plant families dating from the dinosaur era.
8. Many people who collect orchids have an orchid heir in their wills because they know the plants will outlast them.
9. Vanilla comes from the Spanish word "vainilla" meaning "little pod".
10. Until the beginning of the 20th century, orchids couldn't be cultivated from seeds.
You're welcome!
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