Orchids (Orchidaceae family) are the largest and most diverse of the flowering plant (Angiospermae) families, with over 800 described genera and 25,000 species. Some sources give 30,000 species, but the exact number is unknown since classification differs greatly in the academic world. Revisions of different genera occur on a monthly basis and this will increase with the growing use of genetic research and biochemistry. There are another 100,000+ hybrids and cultivars produced by horticulturalists, created since the introduction of tropical species in the 19th century. The Kew World Checklist of Orchids includes about 24,000 accepted species. About 800 new species are added each year. Orchids, through their interactions with pollinators and their symbiosis with mycorrhizae fungi, are considered by some, along with the grasses, to be examples of the most advanced (derived) floral evolution known. __TOC__ Orchids get their name from the Greek orchis, meaning "testicle", from the appearance of subterranean tuberoids of the genus Orchis. The word "orchis" was first used by Theophrastos (372/371 – 287/286 BC), in his book "De historia plantarum" (The natural history of plants). He was a student of Aristotle and is considered the father of botany and ecology.
All orchid species are protected for the purposes of international commerce under CITES as potentially threatened or endangered in their natural habitat, with most species listed under Appendix II. A number of species and genera are afforded protection under Appendix I, including all of Paphiopedilum and all of Phragmipedium. Many other species are protected by both international and national legislation, while hybrids are specifically exempted.
Orchids
Orchidaceae :: Liliopsida

Afrodisa - Wally Orchard, certifiable Disamaniac, presents information about Disa orchids and culture, propagation, pictures, and personal accounts, and sells flasks of baby plants to interested hobbyists.
All About Orchids - Includes advice, orchid show listings, pictures, pest information.
Meta Description: [ The North of England Ochid Society - All About Orchids ]
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AOS Cymbidium Culture Sheet - American Orchid Society culture sheet on standard and miniature cymbidiums.
Argus Orchids - Information on growing orchids, with extensive photo gallery. Emphasis on slipper orchids.
Meta Description: [ Orchid Care Made Easy-Learn All About Growing Orchids, Hundreds of Orchid Photos, Where to Buy Orchids, And More! ]
Aussie Orchids - Features articles on repotting cymbidium, dealing with back bulbs, and training cymbidium spikes.
Azumino Greenhouse - Orchid photo gallery and pictures taken at orchid shows and club meetings in Japan. Include a page documenting an attempt to grow cool-climate orchids in a refrigerator.
Barry's Orchid Page - Orchid growing in Australia, orchid flasking, Catasetinae genera, orchid stamps, and photo galleries.
BellaOnline Orchids - Features weekly articles, book reviews and links.
Meta Description: [ Learn more about orchids. New content is added weekly including orchid culture, miniature orchids, tips, basics for beginners, and photo sites. ]
Brazilian Orchids - Offers photos and cultural tips for orchids, listing of Brazilian orchid organizations, and directory of native orchids by state.
Meta Description: [ Brazilian orchids-Orquideas brasileiras ]
Carsten's Orchid-Depot - A site about orchids and orchid breeding. Includes care instructions and photos.
Colorful Orchids - Photographs by Benjamin Naden of orchid species and hybrids. Includes links to orchid places of interest and a section on digital photography.
Meta Description: [ Lot's of orchid photographs! ]
Diablo Disas - Enthusiast and former grower presents extensive information on Disa cultivation and propagation, and links to other sites.
Meta Description: [ cultivation of Disa Orchids, sales of Disa Orchids,
Hybrids, Disa species,information on Disa Orchids ]
Disas...The Pride of Table Mountain - South African grower presents an informative overview of Disa orchids, covering natural habitat, botany, and cultivation, as well as several photos.
Meta Description: [ Disa orchids at Merkles Orchids ]
Ecan RMS Co., Ltd. - Group of Thai orchid growers specializing in commercial dendrobium cut flowers. Contains information on ordering cut orchids, the orchid trade and a second for Thai orchid lovers.
International Orchid Register - The Royal Horticultural Society is the international registration body for new orchid hybrids and cultivars. Site offers search functions, list of new hybrids, and application form.
Meta Description: [ The RHS is the International Registration Authority for Orchids. ]
Internet Orchid Species Photo Encyclopedia - Gives information on orchid species, how to grow, where they are found, what they are called and when they bloom.
Meta Description: [ the world's largest single reference site on orchid species, how to grow, where they are found, what they are called, when they bloom ]
Karls Orchids - Dedicated to the many species and varieties of phalaenopsis, providing a photo gallery and extensive cultural and background information.
Meta Description: [ A dedication to the Moth Orchid Species ]
Kauai Orchids - Information on orchid care and growing tips.
Meta Description: [ orchid care and orchid growing tips from Kauai Orchids. Visit our complete orchid care guide covering many orchid cultures. ]
Kensington Orchids - Former business has maintained cultural information on its site, covering phalaenopsis, cattleya, oncidieae, cymbidium, vanda/ascocenda, dendrobium, and paphiopedilum.
Kitty_ni's Orchids - Cultural information and photos of orchids being cultivated in Nicaragua. Most can be found in the wild in their natural environment.
Klehm Growers - Company in Illinois presents care information for many species, FAQ, and an extensive photo gallery of their private collection of Paphiopedilum orchids.
Lance Birk - Orchid grower and author presents his three books on orchid culture and jungle orchid expeditions. Contains text excerpts of various chapters.
Meta Description: [ Welcome to the Web site of Lance A. Birk, internationally known expert orchid grower, author, botanist, plant collector, photographer and adventurer. ]
Linda's Orchid Page - For the beginning or advanced grower. Offers culture information, orchid identification with an online encyclopedia with photographs and a variety of other articles.
Macara Orchids - Information on culture, hints, tips, pest and diseases. Topics aimed at New Zealand, but most will be relevant anywhere.
Meta Description: [ Orchid culture, photos, pests, hints & tips & more ]
Mark's Inspiring Plants: Pleiones - Gardener in England provides information and photos showing the cultivation of these small semi-hardy orchids. Pages for both species and hybrids, with cultivation notes.
Möhltimedia Publishing - CD-Rom containing over orchid photos and interactive book chapters.
Meta Description: [ Orchid - orchid cd rom with 9,400 interactive orchid photos, 20 interactive chapters on orchid care and orchids classification system fuchsia ]
Millennium Orchids - Features phalaenopsis, odontoglossums, culture tips and a local news bulletin board.
Miltoniopsis Culture - Informative and in depth information on miltonia and miltoniopsis culture. Links to several other culture sites and commercial site for purchase of cultural sheets of different species.
NOVA: The Orchid Hunter - Site about a PBS program about the quest to discover orchids. Includes a small gallery of orchid photos and descriptions, and the transscript of the program.
Meta Description: [ This companion Web site to the NOVA program Orchid Hunter, examines the orchid, nature's most highly evolved plant, and a flower that has inspired an all-consuming passion in orchid lovers around the world. ]
Orchid Guide - Pictorial database, links, events calendar and orchid discussion list.
Meta Description: [ the Orchid Guide, one of the leading orchid references on the web and home of the Orchidguide Digest (OGD). ]
Orchid House - Information on various species of orchids. This site covers everything from potting mixes to humidity. Sound information for everyone from the beginner to the expert.
Meta Description: [ The Orchid House - A web site for those hobbyists interested in the culture and conservation of orchids ]
Orchid Hunter - Includes a gallery with samples of the surprising diversity of shapes and colors in this collection of species.
Orchid Mall - Categorized listing of orchid-related links.
Meta Description: [ THE Portal for starting your World Wide Web surfing for orchid related material. A comprehensive, continually updated index of orchid Web sites, a one stop shop, providing the orchid enthusiast LINKs to the Web's resources to meet his/her orchid needs and interests. Established April 15, 1995. ]
Orchid Mania - An international group of orchid lovers who raise money for grassroots AIDS organizations, foster orchid education and appreciation, and save endangered orchid species.
Orchid Photographs by Gary Yong Gee - Professional in Australia presents illustrated articles about various species, as well as a list of photographs available as jpg files or prints.
Orchid Photos - Collection of orchid photos from AOS judging and private collections.
Meta Description: [ Stunning orchid photos from AOS judging and private collections ]
Orchid Pictures Query - Database presented by the London Orchid Society, with references to thousands of orchid photos and drawings in hundreds of books, magazines, and catalogs.
Orchid Species Culture - Pollination/germination database for producing orchid seeds, orchid culture files, and information about a service that provides culture sheets on a subscription basis.
Meta Description: [ Orchid Culture Information: Pollination/Germination Database for producing orchid seeds, Orchid Culture Files, and information about 'Culture On Demand', a service that provides Culture Sheets for individual collections. ]
Orchid Webring - Information on species, hybrids, growers, and associations.
Meta Description: [ The webring of Orchid and Orchid related :) ]
OrchidPlanet - Includes news, photographs, calendar of upcoming orchid events and cultural tips.
Orchids - Photographs of orchids and information about cultivating them.
Orchids From Singapore and Malaysia - Offers brief information on micropropagation methods, including an overview of the required equipment and close-up photos of germinating seeds.
Orchids of the Pleurothallid Alliance - Features the plants of Lynn O'Shaughnessy and shares photos and information with The Pleurothallid Alliance site.
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Orchids Online - Maintains an extensive orchid photo gallery, world-wide directories of orchid societies and nurseries, and an online orchid auction site.
Meta Description: [ Orchids Online is a site devoted to many things of interest to orchid growers and enthusiasts. There are thousands of orchid photos and information pages (mostly species), a free to use Orchid Auction, Orchid Society lists, Orchid Nursery lists, and the opportunity to post your own orchid blog or... ]
OrchidWire - Extensive collection of annotated links to worldwide online orchid resources. Also offers an index of orchid genera.
Meta Description: [ Connecting you to 1455 orchid resources around the planet... ]
Paphiopedilum Image gallery - Photographs of various paphiopedilum orchid species and hybrids.
Meta Description: [ Welcome to my paphiopedilum image pages. The site contains a large number of photographs of various paphiopedilum orchid species and hybrids ]
Roberta's Orchid Central - Features photos and cultural information.
Meta Description: [ This page is about orchids, especially orchids that grow in coastal Southern California ]
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Terrestrial Orchid Gallery - A photographic gallery devoted to terrestrial orchids, especially focussing on their natural habitat.
The Catasetum, Mormodes and Coryanthes Site - Information on specific orchid species, photos, a guestbook and forum, and plants for sale.
Meta Description: [ The Catasetum, Mormodes and Coryanthes site ]
The Orchid Conservatory - Thumbnail gallery of orchid photos, mostly taken at the Krohn Conservatory in Cincinnati (Ohio).
The Orchid Digest - A quarterly magazine. Information ranging from basic orchid care to advanced orchid culture. Full color pictures and articles from orchid professionals from around the world.
The Orchid Site - Basic information on orchids: types and varieties, culture and care, glossary, and links.
The Pleione Website - Paul Cumbleton in the UK presents information about the genus, including cultivation, taxonomy, hybrid list, photo gallery, and supplier directory.
Meta Description: [ Devoted to the orchid genus Pleione. An extensive photo gallery of species and hybrids, advice on cultivation, suppliers, a complete hybrid list, taxonomy, literature available and more! ]
Vivi's Orchids - Monthly illustrated columns on various orchid topics since 1995, as well as a photo of the month.
Meta Description: [ Vivi's Orchids online orchid resources includes monthly orchid growing information, orchid photos, orchid stories, and orchid shows, events and information ]
Wildcatt Orchid Database - Software containing the data from the International Orchid Registry, allowing queries and reports to identify crosses, determine progeny of listed hybrids, and display information about natural species and intergenerics. Updated twice-yearly.
www.orchidtalk.com - Offers a photo gallery, discussion forums, and links page aimed at home orchid grower, and offers orchid software for sale.
Meta Description: [ My Orchids orchid software, Orchidtalk orchid forums, orchid pictures ]
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