History of Orchids

The name orchid derives from the Greek word for testicles = orchis. In his work Investigations of Plants, Theophrastus (370-285 BC) used the term to describe a group of plants with testicle-like roots, which are today known as Orchidaceae. This ancient text thus became the source of the name of an entire family of plants.

Exotic marvels in Europe

The innocent Cattleya on your windowsill - or, to be exact, its great-great grandmother - once caused one of the worst bouts of plant-hunting fever there ever was. It all began quite harmlessly. Early in the nineteenth century, a certain William Swanson shipped a cargo of tropical plants from Brazil, which he had wrapped in other tropical plants with thick stems and masses of leaves. Some of these packages found their way to a passionate plant enthusiast called Cattley. Out of sheer curiosity, Cattley took some of the plants that had been used as packaging material into his greenhouse and was amazed when they produced their first flowers in November 1818. The pink-flowering orchid with a conspicuously colored labellum became a sensation. Dr John Lindley (1795-1865), the "father of orchid cultivation", named it Cattleya in honour of Mr Cattley and, on account of its attractive labellum, gave it the full name of Cattleya labiata. No other plant brought back from anywhere by travellers or missionaries had ever created such a fuss, not even Bletia verrecunda from the Bahamas, the first tropical orchid to flower in Europe in 1733! A short while later, every member of British high society appeared to be competing to see who could amass the largest collection containing the most beautiful and rare species of orchids.

Money was no object and orchid mania was to cause some strange happenings. The sixth Duke of Devonshire (England), William George Spencer Cavendish, built a greenhouse that was 59 ft high and 299 ft long to house his collection of orchids, which was the largest in the world at that time.

Orchid Hunting

The demand for orchids grew to such an extent that a breed of professional orchid hunters was created. These adventurous men would often risk their lives to earn the huge sums of money that were on offer. In their quest they had to cope with tropical diseases, swarms of insects, venomous snakes, giant spiders, wild animals, hostile tribesmen and floods. In addition, they had to contend with competition from other hunters, corruption, intrigue, spying and probably murder, too. Whoever managed to survive these perils and bring the plants back safely to Europe soon became rich and also honored, as the orchids were often named after the finder.

Most imported specimens were auctioned off in London for amounts that would easily purchase a small family home nowadays. Very soon, gardeners and botanists began experimenting with these new plants.

Cultivated Varieties

In 1856, the first orchid hybrid, created from Calanthe masuca and Calanthe furcata, began to flower. In 1889 the first Cymbidium hybrid appeared at the Veitch nursery in England and there, in 1892, the first multigeneric hybrid was created from Cattleya, Laelia and Sophronitis. During this period, orchids also became popular as cut flowers, although they were still expensive, luxury items. At one exhibition in Germany, fifteen varieties of Cattleya trianae fetched between 6,000 and 10,000 DM and in England the variety "Imperator" was sold for 6,000 guineas - £6300. In 1905, a trading company named Sander offered a fee of 1,000 pounds sterling to anyone who could procure a specimen of Paphiopedilum fairrieanum, while the highest price ever paid is reputed to have been for a specimen of Odontoglossum crispum.

Not until propagation from seed was finally accomplished did the insanity steadily dwindle. Now even ordinary mortals could afford to buy them. Nowadays, they hardly cost any more than other indoor plants but they have, however, still not quite lost their exotic aura.

Understanding Orchids by William Cullina