Rainforest orchids
are some of the most amazing rainforest
flowers.
There
are 25,000 species of them world-wide, whcih makes them the species-richest family of plants
on Earth.
Although they are found almost everywhere in the world, the vast
majority of orchids is found in rainforests.
There
are about 260 genera in tropical America,
280
genera in tropical Asia,
250 genera in tropical Africa,
and 60 genera in Oceania.
They come in so many colours, shapes and sizes; and many have clever
pollination strategies.
The Bucket Orchid
of Central America for example has a small "bucket" that attracts bees.
The bees fall in there every so often, and the only way out is through
a tube full of pollen.
The Dancing Lady Orchid
of South America dance in the breeze hard enough that small bees think
they are intruders and attack them, pollinating them in the
process.
Note:
This site uses British English, which is the English we use in
Australia. Disclaimer:
This website is about interesting facts about rainforests.
It
is not
trying to be comprehensive. Although best efforts
have been made to
ensure
that all the information on this
site is correct, rainforest-facts.com
is
not to
be blamed should
there be a mistake. Copyright
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