Orchids: Plant hunters' paradise at Kew
- Published
A team of 20 horticulturalists have taken four weeks to install more than 6,500 hybrid orchids in the Princess of Wales Conservatory at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, for the annual Orchid Festival.
This year's theme is plant hunters past and present. Orchids on display include Oncidiums, cambria hybrids and a new Phalaenopsis hybrid called Diamond Sky.
Orchids are the most cosmopolitan of flowering plant families, found everywhere on Earth except dry deserts and cold glaciers.
It is thought to be one of the largest flowering plant families and contains around 25,000 species.
They are most numerous in the world's tropical areas where big, showy flowers are produced.
The flowers of species found elsewhere are no less beautiful.
Kew has one of the oldest collections of living tropical orchids dating back to 1770. With some species now thought to be extinct in the wild, the collection is an invaluable resource for the scientific community.
Some of the rarest species in the world will also be on display including Epidendrum montserratense which is critically endangered because much of its habitat on the island of Montserrat has been destroyed or damaged by volcanic and human activity.
The steamy display also includes a cascade of Vanda orchids, drapes of tropical flowers and a 'plant-hunter's camp' in the pond area.
Orchids: A Plant Hunter's Paradise, runs from 8 February to 9 March 2014, in the Princess of Wales Conservatory at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London.