An instant guide to floral beauty
Outrageously showy, notoriously fussy and surrounded by fawning admirers—it's no wonder orchids are sometimes referred to as the "supermodels of the plant world". It is difficult in a few, simple words to characterise this large family of flowers; even the experts will stop for a moment before launching into a long list of likely traits. But somehow you just know an orchid when you see one. "Sexual" and "flamboyant" are words that often come to mind. And if someone says something or someone is "orchidaceous", you instantly get the picture.
Darwin was fascinated by the sex lives of orchids. He studied them for years and went on to write On the Various Contrivances by which British and Foreign Orchids are Fertilised by Insects, and on the Good Effects of Intercrossing.