A Detailed Introduction to Orchid Species and Their Development
Orchids are precious ornamental plants. According to incomplete statistics, there are currently more than 700 genera and more than 20,000 species worldwide, and many new varieties are discovered and bred every year. According to their ecological habits, orchids can be divided into three major categories: terrestrial orchids, epiphytic orchids and saprophytic orchids.
Most varieties of terrestrial orchids originate from China, so terrestrial orchids are also called Chinese orchids and are ranked first among China's top ten famous flowers. Chinese orchids are mainly divided into five categories: Cymbidium goeringii, Cymbidium faberi, Cymbidium ensifolium, Cymbidium kanran and Cymbidium sinense, with thousands of horticultural varieties.
Cymbidium goeringii: Cymbidium goeringii is also known as Caolan and Shanlan. Cymbidium goeringii is widely distributed and abundant in resources. Its flowering period is from February to March of the year and can last about 1 month. The flowers have a rich and pure fragrance. Precious varieties include lotus, plum, narcissus and butterfly petal types in various colors. In terms of petal type, the famous varieties from Jiangsu and Zhejiang are the most typical.
Cymbidium faberi: Cymbidium faberi has thick and long roots, narrow ribbon-shaped leaves, a relatively rough and hard texture, pale green color, obvious serrations on the leaf margins and prominent midribs. The flowers have a strong fragrance that spreads far and lasts long. The flower colors include yellow, white, green, light red and compound colors, mostly variegated flowers, and there are also solid-color flowers and butterfly flowers.
Cymbidium ensifolium: Also called Sijilan, it includes summer-blooming Xialan, Qiulan and others. Sijilan is robust and upright, with green leaves and abundant flowers, a strong fragrance and beautiful blooms. It is not afraid of heat or cold, has strong vitality and is easy to cultivate. Different varieties have different flowering periods, and flowers can be seen from May to December.
Cymbidium kanran: Cymbidium kanran is distributed in Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong and the southwestern regions of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan. The leaves of Cymbidium kanran are more slender than those of Sijilan, especially narrower at the leaf base. The leaf posture is elegant and unrestrained, green and delicate. There are varieties with large, medium and fine leaves as well as edged varieties. The flower colors are rich, including yellow, green, purple-red and deep purple, generally with variegated veins and spots, and there are also pure flowers that are clean and flawless. The sepals and petals are relatively narrow and fine, with a distinctive style, delicate and lovely, and an overwhelming fragrance. Cymbidium sinense:
Cymbidium sinense, also known as Baosuilan, Baisuilan and Fengsuilan, originates from China's Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Yunnan, Taiwan, China and Hainan. Orchid growers in various parts of southern China, especially Guangdong and Yunnan, most enjoy cultivating and appreciating it. Chunjian: Chunjian is often called authentic Sichuan orchid. Although Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan all have famous varieties, the famous Sichuan orchid varieties are the most precious. The flower colors include red, yellow, white, green, purple, black and compound colors. They are brilliant and eye-catching, with graceful forms and elegant charm, a rich fragrance and pure scent, and are often the first choice praised by orchid growers.
The Origin and Development of Chinese Orchids
What is called Chinese orchid today, or Guolan for short, was also called Lanhui in ancient times. Chinese people have appreciated and cultivated orchids much earlier than the Western cultivation of exotic orchids. As early as 2,400 years ago in the Spring and Autumn period, the Chinese cultural sage Confucius once said: The zhilan grows in a secluded valley, and does not cease to be fragrant because no one is there; the gentleman cultivates the Way and establishes virtue, and does not change his integrity because of poverty. He also called the orchid the fragrance of kings, a phrase that has been passed down to this day and is enough to prove the place Chinese orchids occupy in history and culture.
The Song Dynasty was the heyday of China's orchid cultivation history, with numerous books and descriptions related to orchid art. By the Ming and Qing dynasties, orchid art entered another flourishing period. With the continuous increase in orchid varieties and the growing richness of cultivation experience, orchid cultivation had become an object of appreciation for the general public.
Orchid cultivation originated in China and spread abroad to Japan and Korea. Today Japan has a strong interest in Chinese orchids, and its historical origins also began in China. Today Japan's orchid cultivation has developed its own system and has become a base known as Oriental orchids. As for Korea, orchid cultivation has also indispensably become something the Korean people admire, and orchids have become an elegant flower for today's Korean people, displayed in bedrooms, residences and halls. What is even more praiseworthy is that they present orchids as a high-grade gift.
Humans are the most intelligent of all things, and orchids are the finest of the hundred flowers. May orchids naturally enter people's spiritual world, and may we together carry forward orchid art, this traditional national essence of the Chinese nation, making friends through orchids and progressing together.