Once exotic flowers - orchids - have become very popular among fans of indoor floriculture. The most popular are Phalaenopsis and Dendrobium, which can be found on sale in any flower shop. However, the orchid family has more than 20,000 species in the world, and many of them are very unusual.
Instructions
Step 1
Dracula simia or Dracula gigas
This orchid was found on the slopes of the mountains in southeastern Ecuador and Peru, at an altitude of 1000 - 2000 meters. This is a very interesting flower that looks like a monkey, and on different flowers you can see different expressions of the animal's face, from sad and thoughtful to cheerful and happy.
In the botanical name of the orchid there is another name Dracula, which means "little dragon". The thing is that it has spurs at the ends of the sepals that resemble fangs.
Step 2
Orchis simia or Orchis italica
Another orchid also looks like a monkey. Also, the locals call her "a naked hanging man." Orchid flowers are usually gray, white, pink, purple or reddish.
The orchid was first discovered in France in 1779 and grows from southern England to North Africa and east to Iran. However, since the beginning of the 20th century, they began to disappear and are now very rare in nature.
Step 3
Ophrys insectifera
What plants do not resort to to attract pollinators. The fly orchid not only looks like this insect, but also attracts males using a specific scent.
They land on a flower, try to mate with it, and then, frustrated by the lack of nectar and procreation, lose interest and fly to another flower, while involuntarily pollinating it. Thanks to this deception, this type of orchid is quite common.
In Europe, Ophrys insectifera is distributed in Ireland, Spain, Romania and Ukraine and grows in alkaline soils and in sunny places and in partial shade, on plains and at an altitude of 1700 m.
Step 4
Ophrys apifera
Another interesting species of bee orchid, its flowers attract males, as does the fly orchid. Outwardly, they resemble female bees, and besides, they thin out the aroma that resembles their smell.
Bee orchids are common in the Mediterranean region and can also be found in the UK, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Step 5
Caleana major
In eastern and southern Australia (Queensland and Tasmania), a wonderful species of duck orchid grows. Caleana attracts male sawflies visually and with its special scent.
The first specimen of the plant was discovered at the site of the Sydney Opera House in 1803, but the orchid was difficult to cultivate in captivity due to its special root system, which requires symbiosis with mushrooms that grow only in the wild.
When the sawfly lands on a flower, he falls into a kind of trap, but under his weight the lip bends down. This is the only way out of the trap, where the insect is covered with pollen. The insect then flies to another orchid and pollinates the flower.
