The Orchid Garden

Orchid habitats

Question:

Anoechtochilus sandvicensis:

Oops…that’s actually spelled Anoectochilus…one too many h’s in there. — — Prem – Animator, programmer, and orchid and fossil nut extraordinaire… – DNRC Title: Minister of Lightwave 3d Plugin Design Foolishness – Home – http://www.PremDesign.com "We in our foolishness thought we were wise He played the fool and He opened our eyes We in our weakness believed we were strong He became nothing to show we were wrong." "God’s Own Fool" – Michael Card

Response:

OK, Allow me to correct myself.  There are no attractive or epiphytic orchids native to Hawaii. Ha ha  :-) Matt

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – There are no native orchids in Hawaii.  Some have made it to the islands by human transfer.  The islands have not been there for very long, built up by volcanic activity over the years.  Some orchids, of course, have made Hawaii home such as Arundia.  Last June, I saw Arundia (The Bamboo Orchid) all over the big island. This is not the case.  Luer lists in his "Native Orchids of North America" two or three rather unshowy orchids (they might all be terrestrials as well, IIRC).  Perhaps I should make a visit to the local university library and thumb through this book again to see what those species are. Hawaii is also home to many "escaped" orchids, most notably the aforementioned Arundina and Spathoglottis — Prem – Animator, programmer, and orchid and fossil nut extraordinaire… – DNRC Title: Minister of Lightwave 3d Plugin Design Foolishness – Home – http://www.PremDesign.com "We in our foolishness thought we were wise He played the fool and He opened our eyes We in our weakness believed we were strong He became nothing to show we were wrong." "God’s Own Fool" – Michael Card

Response:

There are no native orchids in Hawaii.  

Check the following page: http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/natives.htm A cursory search showed a species of Anoechtochilus (the jewel orchids), a species of Liparis, and a species of Platanthera.  Here are some pics of the orchids listed: Anoechtochilus sandvicensis: http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/images/ano_san_hab.jpg http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/images/ano_san.jpg http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/images/ano_san_cu.jpg Liparis hawaiiensis: http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/images/lip_haw_hab.jpg http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/images/lip_haw_mid.jpg http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/images/lip_haw_cu.jpg http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/images/lip_haw_cu2.jpg http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/images/lip_haw_fl.jpg Platanthera holochila: http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/images/pla_hol.jpg That Anoechto looks pretty…I wonder if anyone has tried introducing it into cultivation… — Prem – Animator, programmer, and orchid and fossil nut extraordinaire… – DNRC Title: Minister of Lightwave 3d Plugin Design Foolishness – Home – http://www.PremDesign.com "We in our foolishness thought we were wise He played the fool and He opened our eyes We in our weakness believed we were strong He became nothing to show we were wrong." "God’s Own Fool" – Michael Card

Response:

: : native orchids north of the Arctic Circle than there are in Hawaii. : I live on the Island of Hawaii, one of its nick-names is the : "Orchid Isle". But what some of the orchids that are native : to Hawaii? Hi Wil. My response is mnemonic as I was loaned the book written by Dr. Luer from which I responded to Ash Coopland in the original question; and I no longer have the book here. I believe the book’s title was something similar to ‘Native Orchids of North America’. I certainly don’t recall the species of orchids native to Hawaii, but I do recall that the three mentioned were highly endemic and of ‘botanical interest’ only. Perhaps other participants of RGO that have ready access to the book will contribute more specifically. Of course, Hawaii justifiably deserves the epithet "Orchid Isle" for it’s commercial enterprises and feral orchids, but is depauperate in <native species due to the youthful age of the islands and the distance from mainland centers of distribution. Dale

Response:

: : I have heard/read that orchids grow naturally in every State of the Union. : Can : Yes. The State flower of Minnesota is Cypripedium reginae. There are more : native orchids north of the Arctic Circle than there are in Hawaii. I live on the Island of Hawaii, one of its nick-names is the "Orchid Isle". But what some of the orchids that are native to Hawaii?

Response:

There are no native orchids in Hawaii.  Some have made it to the islands by human transfer.  The islands have not been there for very long, built up by volcanic activity over the years.  Some orchids, of course, have made Hawaii home such as Arundia.  Last June, I saw Arundia (The Bamboo Orchid) all over the big island. Matt

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – : : I have heard/read that orchids grow naturally in every State of the Union. : Can : Yes. The State flower of Minnesota is Cypripedium reginae. There are more : native orchids north of the Arctic Circle than there are in Hawaii. I live on the Island of Hawaii, one of its nick-names is the "Orchid Isle". But what some of the orchids that are native to Hawaii?

Response:

There are no native orchids in Hawaii.  Some have made it to the islands by human transfer.  The islands have not been there for very long, built up by volcanic activity over the years.  Some orchids, of course, have made Hawaii home such as Arundia.  Last June, I saw Arundia (The Bamboo Orchid) all over the big island.

This is not the case.  Luer lists in his "Native Orchids of North America" two or three rather unshowy orchids (they might all be terrestrials as well, IIRC).  Perhaps I should make a visit to the local university library and thumb through this book again to see what those species are. Hawaii is also home to many "escaped" orchids, most notably the aforementioned Arundina and Spathoglottis — Prem – Animator, programmer, and orchid and fossil nut extraordinaire… – DNRC Title: Minister of Lightwave 3d Plugin Design Foolishness – Home – http://www.PremDesign.com "We in our foolishness thought we were wise He played the fool and He opened our eyes We in our weakness believed we were strong He became nothing to show we were wrong." "God’s Own Fool" – Michael Card

Response:

: I have heard/read that orchids grow naturally in every State of the Union. Can Yes. The State flower of Minnesota is Cypripedium reginae. There are more native orchids north of the Arctic Circle than there are in Hawaii.

Response:

I have heard/read that orchids grow naturally in every State of the Union. Can this be true? Maine? Minnesota? I would appreciate enlightenment Ash Coopland

Response:

I have heard/read that orchids grow naturally in every State of the Union. Can this be true? Maine? Minnesota? I would appreciate enlightenment

Ash, it is indeed true.  In fact, there are orchids indigenous to Alaska, believe it or not.  Orchids can be divided into two broad categories…terrestrials and epiphytes.  Most of the tropical orchids and their hybrids that you can purchase from local orchid growers, garden centers, etc. are epiphytes, that is, tree-dwelling orchids.  They establish themselves usually in a layer of humus that forms on the tops of tree branches and down their trunks, although some epiphytes can (and will) grow on bare bark or even small twigs. There are tropical terrestrials, but they are somewhat the exception. Most temperate-dwelling orchids are terrestrials, that is, they live in soil and usually die back in winter to underground roots that then spring back to active growth (and flower) during the spring and summer.  There is one straggling tropical epiphyte that can be found in states as far  north as coastal North Carolina, but in general, all orchids seen north of Florida are terrestrials.  Some of the showiest terrestrial orchids have to be the ladyslippers (Cypripedium). Following at a distant second to these are some of the fringe orchids (Platanthera ciliaris, P. blephariglottis and P. psycodes).  There are other orchids that are reasonably showy, like Galearis spectabilis, Arethusa, Calypso, Calopogon, and Pogonia, and lots of fairly diminutive plants secreted away in damp woodlands somewhere, like Liparis, Goodyera, Listera and Corallorhiza. Your best bet for locating native orchids in your area is to purchase a local wildflower guide and go searching through the nearest habitats that seem suitable at the proper time of year.  Remember, however, that digging up native orchids is usually illegal in most states in the U.S.  It is also usually difficult to keep native orchids alive in cultivation, although I’ve seen seed-raised Cypripedium for sale from several vendors on the web.  You can find them linked off of http://www.orchidmall.com Good luck! — Prem – Animator, programmer, and orchid and fossil nut extraordinaire… – DNRC Title: Minister of Lightwave 3d Plugin Design Foolishness – Home – http://www.PremDesign.com "We in our foolishness thought we were wise He played the fool and He opened our eyes We in our weakness believed we were strong He became nothing to show we were wrong." "God’s Own Fool" – Michael Card

Response:

Filed under: Orchid Flower

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