Missouri Botanical Garden Orchid Show 2007

Voice: Dr. Jim Solomon, curator of the herbarium Resource: Talking Orchid script, Bulletin articles, 2005 2006 Orchid Show brochures Hi, I’m Dr. Jim Solomon, curator of the herbarium here at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Did you know that orchids are the largest family of flower plants in the world, with some 30 to 35,000 species? That’s approaching nearly 10 percent of all flowering plants! They grow on every continent except Antarctica. While there are only about 200 orchid species in North America the tropical countries have many, many more. For example, there’s more than 3,500 species in Ecuador and more than 1,300 in Costa Rica. Some orchid plants are less than an inch tall with flowers the size of a pinhead, while others grow up to 40 feet tall, with flowers approaching a foot in width. Terrestrial orchids grow on the ground, where their roots absorb moisture and nutrients from the soil with the help of soil fungi. Epiphytic orchids on the other hand grow on tree trunks or branches for support a