Like the vanilla orchid, other orchids also have uses in addition to being beautiful. In some area, people use parts of orchids as food. For example, people in tropical Asian areas may eat the tubers of some species of an orchid called Gastrodia. The tubers are eaten like potatoes. In Malaysia, the leaves of one orchid species are sold as a vegetable. And the leaves of another are cooked as a seasoning for rice.
Some cultures use orchids for traditional folk medicines. In parts of Ecuador, the thick, sticky glue-like substance from the orchid species Catasetum is thought to help heal broken bones.
It is illegal to collect orchids growing in nature. But poachers often do so. And orchids reproduce with difficulty. They depend on birds, bees or insects to spread their pollen to another orchid flower.
Some orchids trick their pollinators. Such plants produce a smell that may interest pollinators not normally attracted to them. Other orchids trick male flies by making themselves look like female flies. Still others temporarily trap a pollinator. The action forces the insects to touch the orchid pollen. They pick it up on their bodies and carry it to another flower. Once the second flower is fertilized, seeds begin to form.
Orchid seeds grow slowly. Sometimes they take months to develop inside the seedpods. The very small seedpods contain as many as three thousand seeds. The seeds float in the air when the pods break open. But they do not begin growing just anywhere.
最新
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25