Orchidaceae, commonly called the orchid family, is a diverse and widespread family of flowering plants, with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant.
The family encompasses about 6–11% of all seed plants. 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 more than 100,000 hybrids and cultivars.
Orchids are easily distinguished from other plants, as they
share some very evident derived characteristics or synapomorphies. Among these
are: bilateral symmetry of the flower (zygomorphism), many resupinate flowers,
a nearly always highly modified petal (labellum), fused stamens and carpels,
and extremely small seeds.
The most expensive plant ever sold was the Shenzhen Nongke Orchid sold for $224,000 in 2005. Created in a university lab by scientists it took 8 years to create.
When this orchid was finally put up for auction in 2005, an
anonymous bidder paid over $224,000 to add it to their collection. We think
they stayed anonymous out of embarrassment or maybe a little surprising
humbleness. After all, who wants to be known as the person who spent $224,000
on a flower? For the average person, it is impossible to imagine spending that
kind of money on anything.
In fact, it is worth fully understanding just how much money this person spent on a small flower to give perspective to how wild it was as a purchase.
Cheerio!
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