Meaning Of Orchid Flowers

The most highly coveted of ornamental plants, the delicate, exotic and graceful orchid represents love, luxury, beauty and strength.

In ancient Greece, orchids were associated with virility. In fact, Greek women believed that if the father of their unborn child ate large, new orchid tubers, the baby would be a boy. If the mother ate small orchid tubers, she would give birth to a girl.

During the Victorian era, orchid symbolism shifted to luxury, and today this sense of magnificence and artful splendor continues, with orchids representing rare and delicate beauty.

The 14th wedding anniversary flower, pink orchids convey pure affection, and the popular cattelya orchid represents mature charm.

Some Interesting Facts about Orchids

• A majority of orchids grow anchored to trees or shrubs in the tropics and subtropics.
• Throughout the world, more than 17,000 species are known, vary in size and shape.
• Orchids may have an ancient origin going back 76 to 84 million years ago. In other words, they may have co-existed with dinosaurs.
• One orchid genus, Vanilla, is commercially produced and used as a flavouring.

Orchids, like tulips, have created a large market throughout the world. Buyers now bid hundreds of dollars on new hybrids or improved ones. Because of their apparent ease in hybridization, they are now becoming one of the most popular cut-flowers on the market.