Hobbies And Interests
Order
The Order Asparagales is a broad collection of somewhat disparate plant species. Asparagales species are monocots, which means they are flowering plants. In addition to orchids, the Asparagales order includes such diverse plants as onions, asparagus, agave and daffodils. Asparagales species typically have a cluster of leaves at the base of the plant as well as a long stem topped with a flower. Another commonality between most Asparagales is a sooty black coating around their seeds called phytomelanin.
Family
The orchid, or Orchidaceae, family is one of the largest families of flowering plants, with over 20,000 species. Orchids grow across the globe, almost everywhere, even above the Arctic circle. Species in the orchid family are perennial herbs, which means their roots live on and regrow flowers and stems year by year. Many varieties of orchids are valued for their beautiful flowers, some of which can look very different from one another. Vanilla flavor is also derived from the Vanilla genus of orchids.
Subfamily
Epidendroideae is a subfamily within the orchid family that includes the Vanda genus. Epidendroidaea is the largest subfamily of orchids. It includes many plants that are epiphytes, which means they grow on other plants instead of the ground, although they are not parasites. Most Epidendroidaea also live in the tropical or subtropical regions of the world, like the Vanda orchids.
Genus
Vanda is a genus of plants, which is the second level of taxonomic classification after species. About 50 species of orchid exist within the Vanda genus. Vanda orchids have played an important part in many Asian cultures, and the word "vanda" is Sanskrit for "orchid." Flower species within Vanda have many different colors, but most Vanda species are yellow or brown in color. Vanda orchids grow primarily in India as well as the Southeast Asian regions in countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Borneo.