A link to short video exposing them, and summing up their significance. Orchids make up one of the largest and most diverse groups of flowering plants in the world. The orchid family includes more than 25,000 individual species that come from every continent except Antarctica.Such a bunch of vivid, exotic, diverse flowers are now endangered. It would be lovely to have a stamp set for them. They would turn out really pretty and amusing. 1.Monkey Face Orchid Botanical Name: Dracula simia or Dracula gigas Found on the sides of the high mountains in southeastern Ecuador and Peru at an elevation of 1,000 - 2,000 meters, the monkey face orchid is a popular but rare favourite among orchid collectors, because it has a distinctive monkey or baboon face in its flower. Different flowers provide different expressions of the monkey face, from thoughtful to happy to sad. 2.Cockleshell Orchid Botanical Name: Prosthechea cochleata The cockleshell orchid, also known as the clamshell orchid, has pseudo bulbs that look like hoods growing from the plant, from which the flower blooms. It is native to Central America, the West Indies, Colombia, Venezuela, and southern Florida and is the national flower of Belize, where it is also known as the black orchid. In Florida, the cockleshell orchid is endangered and many wild plants have developed a self-fertilisation system (using three anthers instead of one). Prosthechea cochleata is a commonly cultivated household plant and is easy to take care of. It blooms for up to 6 months and each flower can last for weeks. Several hybrids have been produced, including the well-known epi green hornet variety. 3.Bee Orchid Botanical Name: Ophrys apifera Another version of ophrys insectifera is the bee orchid. The apifera in Latin means “bee bearing” and the flowers attract male bees in the same way as the fly orchid, by visually mimicking female bees and also emitting the scent of female bees for pollination. 4.White Egret Orchid Found in China, Japan, Korea, and Russia, the white egret orchid is also known as the fringed orchid, crane orchid or Sagiso and is one of Japan’s most famous orchids. It can have up to 8 flowers on its stalk and each flower is about 4cm wide. Habenaria radiata is fast becoming endangered in the wild due to habitat destruction and requires some attention to grow in captivity. However, it still grows in the private gardens of orchid collectors, in non-urbanized mountain areas at over 500m elevation and in protected Japanese bogs where flower viewing is allowed. Other varieties of habenaria have egret-like flowers as well, including some with variegation and different wingspans. 5.Miltonia Orchids Miltonia orchids are often referred to as "pansy orchids" because of their similar appearance to garden pansies. Unlike garden pansies who prefer cooler temperatures, miltonia orchids require bright indirect light and moderate temperatures, blooming from late spring to summer. 6.Vanilla Orchids Vanilla, one of the most popular fragrances and spices, actually comes from a genus of orchids. Vanilla orchids are the only type of orchids that grow on vines and need a lot of vertical space. Individual flowers only last about a day, but the plant will continue to produce them for up to 1 to 2 months. Source Here are more of the most popular and pretty orchids from which any of them could be selected. But I would especially like to have first four of them.
