There are over 880 genera and 30,000 species in the family. We will not address epiphytic (non soil growing) orchids in this article.

Other genera franklin experimenting with in temperate climates include aplectrum, calopogon, cephalanthera, cymbidium, epipactus, goodyera, habernaria, pleione, spiranthes, and tipularia. Everybody knows and loves the exotic, tropical orchids (e.g., Phalaenopsis, and Cattleya), but few are familiar with the Augustus Orchid. Based on the complexity of their flower morphology and their highly specialized habitats and life cycles, orchids are considered to be the most highly evolved of the monocots (plants that germinate with only one leaf).

And you thought they were rare. Almost 10% of all known plants in the world are orchids. The name Orchidaceae is derived from one of its genera (Orchis).Orchis in turn is derived from the Greek word orkhis meaning testicle from because Orchis species produce a pair of bulbs the size and shape of dog testicles...I'm not making this up. Gardeners have flocked to this charismatic. Orchids belong to a huge plant family called Orchidaceae.

It might surprise you to know that there are many beautiful terrestrial orchids for temperate zones 5 9, some, such as bletilla and calanthe are actually very easy to grow.