10 Most Interesting Looking Orchids

In the "The Private Life of Plants" series by David Attenborough, he talks about a whole range of orchids which have managed to mimic a female wasp or bee. Apart from these sexual deceptive orchids, there are a whole variety of them, all ranging from different sizes and colours. So, here is just a small collection from the 26,049 accepted species of Orchid.
1. Bee orchid

Source: thenaturalstone.blogspot.com.au

 2. Spider Orchid

Source: www.flickr.com/photos/myrmician

An Orchid from the Caladenia family.
"Following a perfume trail to its source, male wasps in Australia ravish a king spider orchid. Sure the red "lip" is a mate, they rub against it; one will take away the plant's pollen. Every orchid has a petal modified for pollination, some theatrically so".

 3. Dendrobium Spectabile.

Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

"In addition to the eight new orchids recently discovered in Papua New Guinea, scientists also found previously known but still impressive species, including this exquisitely ruffled Dendrobium spectabile."

 

4. Butterfly Orchid

Psychopsis papilio

Source: www.fairchildgarden.org

5. Dracula Orchid

Dracula robledorum Source:www.flickr.com/photos/weissalberich

6. Lady's Slipper Orchids

Cypripedium calceolus Source: www.flickr.com/photos/jimhorsfall

7. Bearded Orchids

Calochilus robertsonii Source: peonyden.blogspot.com.au

8. Venus' Fan Bulbophyllum

Bulbophyllum flabellum-veneris Source: www.flickr.com/photos

Close up Source: www.flickr.com/photos

9. Dancing Lady orchid

Oncidium sp. Source: houseplantscare.blogspot.com.au

10. Schomburgkia Orchid

schomburgkia undulata Source: miguelorchids.wordpress.com

Source: miguelorchids.wordpress.com

Whether well-known or yet to be discovered, the plants and animals of New Guinea's rain forests face mounting threats as oil and gas operations continue to expand in the region, according to the WWF scientists who discovered the flowers.

"The sad reality is that many of these plants … may become extinct before they have even been discovered," WWF forest ecologist Olo Gebia said in a statement on October 16.

"This gives even greater urgency to ensuring the long-term conservation of this remarkable region."

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To see more photos of Orchids, you can check out these two blogs:

~ florzinha-de-estufa.blogspot.com.au 
- even though it's in different language, this blog is really great if you’re really interested in orchids.

~ miguelorchids.wordpress.com 

- This blog also has a great range of orchid species with pictures and information about them.

If you enjoyed this post, you can read more about sexually deceptive orchids here. Its a national geographic article called "Love and Lies" written all about them.

Please comment and tell me your favourite Orchid :) Enjoy!