BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Smithsonian Gardens & USBG -- Orchids: Interlocking Science and Beauty @ Natural History Museum

DC -- Smithsonian Gardens & USBG -- Orchids: Interlocking Science and Beauty @ Natural History Museum:

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Description of Pictures: Orchids: Interlocking Science and Beauty
January 24, 2015 – April 26, 2015
Explore the rich crossroads where orchid botany, horticulture, and technology connect. Featuring orchids from the Smithsonian Gardens Orchid Collection and the United States Botanic Garden Orchid Collection, the exhibit looks at how new ideas, technologies, and inventions change the way we study, protect, and enjoy orchids. Each new innovation is like a puzzle piece: it fills in gaps in our knowledge and creates a larger and more complex picture of orchids.
At first, Victorian explorers and horticulturists found ways to transport and grow exotic orchids. More recently, we developed labs to grow these flowers on a massive scale (though some labs concentrate on learning about wild orchids). Our relatively recent awareness of the need to protect wild orchids has spurred conservation efforts, both in nature reserves and in labs.
Today, the world of orchids is full of possibilities. High-tech orchid pioneers use technology to genetically engineer new orchids, use DNA to better understand evolutionary relationships and discover previously unknown symbiotic fungi necessary for their culture and preservation. Meanwhile, millions of spectacular plants are created annually through micro-propagation, and 3D imaging technologies reveal startling new facets of these fascinating flowers.

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[1] ORCHID_150125_001.JPG	[2] ORCHID_150125_009.JPG	[3] ORCHID_150125_018.JPG
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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. ORCHID_150125_001.JPG: Orchids: Interlocking Science and Beauty: Like pieces of a puzzle, each new advance in orchid research, conservation, and cultivation contributes to the larger picture of these spectacular plants.
2. ORCHID_150125_021.JPG: Orchids Set Sail: A single 19th-century invention allowed plant hunters to ship plants from distant jungles to patrons, conservatories, and botanic gardens, forever transforming our relationship with orchids. The Wardian case, a deceptively simple glass-and-wood box, enabled collectors in the Victorian era (1837-1901) to transport live orchids for the first time. Explorers could ship plants across vast distances while the orchids remained protected inside these microhabitats. In 1829, London doctor Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward (1791-1868) discovered that plants even under conditions where they'd normally wither. This breakthrough revolutionized international plant transport.
3. ORCHID_150125_029.JPG: Orchidelirium: In the 19th century, wealthy Europeans and North Americans went wild for orchids. They filled their greenhouses with species extracted from habitats worldwide, as well as newly "engineered" hybrids. The tropical orchids that collectors brought to Europe and North America needed the natural environmental conditions of their native climates; some required heat and moisture, others cool breezes. So orchid lovers developed elaborate greenhouses to shelter their expanding collections.
4. ORCHID_150125_042.JPG: Surviving at Sea: Before the invention of Wardian cases, plants almost always died on long sea voyages. Soil, fresh water, light, and stable temperatures are difficult to maintain on a ship. Wardian cases recycle moisture through condensation, retain soil, and let in light while keeping out salty ocean sprays.
5. ORCHID_150125_050.JPG: Building on the Past: In recent decades, new technologies and shifting attitudes have transformed our relationship with orchids both at home and in nature. Today's growers produce new hybrids for the mass market. Meanwhile scientists work to understand orchid biology and protect wild populations. Each of these efforts adds to the larger picture of orchids.
6. ORCHID_150125_053.JPG: Orchids Came at a Steep Price: Rare, exotic orchids fetched enormous sums in European markets. Prices were high because expeditions to find new orchids were often long and dangerous. The craze for new orchids also decimated wild populations. As Victorian explorers traveled the world looking for new species to collect and sell, they ripped out countless plants and sometimes destroyed orchid habitats to maintain their exclusive access. During the orchid craze, a living plant could cost more than the yearly salary of a well-paid gardener!
7. ORCHID_150125_054.JPG: Greenhouses Grow Up: 15th Century: Korean horticulturists using oiled-paper windows and underground flues built greenhouses with heat, light, and humidity controls. 16th Century: Across Europe, "orangeries" with enormous glass windows housed citrus plants in winter. 19th Century: High-quality glass and ornate cast iron helped create the first modern greenhouses. 20th Century: Electricity controlled heat, water, and light systems. 21st Century: Today's vast commercial greenhouse complexes use computers to regulate energy use and environmental conditions.
8. ORCHID_150125_099.JPG: Why Hybrids? To mass produce orchids, growers moved away from wild species and developed hybrids that were easier to grow, and matched consumer preferences for everything from smell and color to flower size and shape. What's a hybrid? Hybrids are crosses between different orchid species -- which are native to specific places or environments -- or even other hybrids. Corsages were once a very popular way to enjoy cut orchids. An orchid corsage showed off the high statue of both wearer and buyer. Though less common today, many people still buy elaborate orchid corsages for special occasions. Changing Fashions, Changing Flowers: Late 1800s to early 1900s: Horticulturists hybridized orchids to make exotic-looking parlor plants. 1920s-1960s: Orchids for the cut-flower market were large, fragrant and often frilly. 1960s-1980s: Consumer preference shifted back to potted plants, particularly unique and unusual-looking hybrids. 1980s to Present: Today's mass-market hybrids are bred to be easy for even non-hobbyists to care for.
9. ORCHID_150125_127.JPG: A Growing Industry: Today, we no longer need to remove orchids from the wild to enjoy them -- modern labs produce hundreds of millions of plants each year. Industrial growers rely on efficient production strategies and technological breakthroughs such as cloning to cultivate affordable, consistent orchid crops on a mass scale. Each step of this complex process fits together to create these living commodities.
10. ORCHID_150125_203.JPG: Flower Shop Hybrids Galore: Hybrids shape our idea of orchids. But public demand also influences the styles of hybrids that horticulturists create. Consumer preferences drive growers to engineer different orchid varieties: some better suited to life in pots, others designed to be sold as cut flowers, and still others with fantastical shapes, sizes, colors -- and even spots!
11. ORCHID_150125_220.JPG: Test Tube Flowers: Most of today's mass-produced orchids aren't grown from seeds -- they're clones! Using tissue culture techniques, orchid cultivators can produce an infinite number of identical plants. Clones are grown from cells taken from the tip of a plant's shoot. Under sterile conditions, grower place these cells in a flask filled with nutrients and hormones. The resulting plantlets grow up in a series of flasks, until finally they're ready to leave the lab for the greenhouse. Along with poinsettias, orchids are the best-selling potted flowers in the United States. Long Journey from Lab to Store: How is an orchid like a car? They're both created through mass production. Industrial-scale labs and greenhouses around the world have honed each part of the production process to a science, with specialized treatment for each new growth stage -- like a factory assembly line. Even this streamlined process takes a long time to produce a mature flowering plant. Some Cattleya orchids can take up to eight years before they're ready to go to market.
12. ORCHID_150125_224.JPG: What are mycorrhizal fungi? Mycorrhizal fungi are species of fungus that have a close, interdependent relationship with plant roots. Orchids in particular depend on these fungi for nutrients -- especially the dust-like orchid seeds that need energy to sprout, and the young plants that can't yet support themselves. By knowing which orchids use which species of mycorrhizal fungi, conservationists have a better chance of cultivating orchids in labs and understanding their ecological needs.
13. ORCHID_150125_230.JPG: Innovative Conservation: Not all labs mass-produce orchids for sale -- some focus on conserving wild species. The North American Orchid Conservation Center (NAOCC) stores orchid seeds, identifies and banks their mycorrhizal fungi, and aims to cultivate these endangered species. NAOCC's goal is to ensure that native orchids survive for future generations.
14. ORCHID_150125_236.JPG: Conservation Close to Home: Not all orchid conservation efforts are taking place in the tropics. The Smithsonian's own Environmental Research Center (SERC) in Maryland is home to some endangered native orchids. Scientists there study orchid ecology while preserving the natural habitat.
15. ORCHID_150125_239.JPG: Small Purple Fringed Orchid: Platanthera psycodes is just one of the many native orchids whose seeds and symbiotic fungi are stored in SERC's labs. By learning about this orchid's biology, SERC scientists hope to propagate and conserve Platanthera, and eventually help gardeners grow it in their own yards.
16. ORCHID_150125_275.JPG: Restoring the Small-Whorled Pogonia: The Small-Whorled Pogonia (Isotria medeloides) isn't the flashiest orchid, but it has a major claim to fame as the rarest orchid east of the Mississippi River. SERC ecologists try to protect and restore Istoria populations by identifying the orchid's particular mycorrhizal fungi, determining which factors control the fungi's abundance in the soil, and learning about the plant's life cycle and population dynamics. Want to get involved? Help NAOCC track wild orchid populations at iNaturalist.org. You can also use the Go Orchids website to identify orchid species and learn more. Trouble for Isotria: Isotria's fungi depend on oaks, hickories, and beeches found in forests older than 100 years. As old-growth forests disappear and shrink, so do orchid populations. It may take decades or centuries for the trees, fungi, and orchids to recover. Unfortunately, some Isotria populations may not have much time left. Plants in the southern part of the species' range are at risk as the climate becomes too warm. Because these orchids are so isolated, they may not be able to spread quickly enough to beat the heat.
17. ORCHID_150125_313.JPG: Plant Reserve Protecting Our Orchids: Mass-produced hybrids have taken pressure off of wild orchids. But now other factors like habitat loss threaten many wild populations. Nature reserves are often their last refuge. Scientists in the field and the lab come together to ensure orchids' survival. Conservation groups monitor orchids in protected areas, store seeds and fungi, and study orchids' biology to better preserve them on a changing plant.
18. ORCHID_150125_314.JPG: Orchids Under Threat: There are more than 22,000 species of orchids found around the world in jungles, mountains, wetlands, and prairies. And yet, many orchids are threatened, endangered, or already extinct because of human-caused pollution, habitat loss, and climate change. Orchids are extremely sensitive to environmental changes. Like canaries in a coal mine, they are often the primary indicators of a habitat's health. When orchids struggle to survive, other species are soon endangered. Many orchids rely on one or a few specific pollinators. To protect the orchids, we must also protect birds, bees, and moths -- and the other plants they pollinate. Orchids Entangled with Their Environment: Wild orchids are key conservation targets, but because of their complex life cycles and ecological needs, we're only just beginning to understand how to protect them. Orchids often have strong relationships with particular animal pollinators, and they depend on specific fungi for nutrients. Orchids are so interconnected with their habitat that we can't isolate individual pieces of the puzzle -- we need to protect entire ecosystems. Reserva Ecologica de Guapi Acu (REGUA) has reclaimed more than 18,500 acres of previously deforested land in Brazil. The reserve purchases or manages land with other organizations to protect and restore as much forest and biodiversity as possible.
19. ORCHID_150125_340.JPG: Where do we go from here? The puzzle is far from finished. The future of orchid research, conservation, and cultivation may lie in tools that haven't even been invented yet. Some emerging technologies are just beginning to change the way we view and think about orchids. The future is full of exciting possibilities!
20. ORCHID_150125_342.JPG: Designer Genes: Scientists can directly manipulate orchid genes for desired effects. In 2013, Japanese researchers engineered the first truly blue Phalaenopsis using a gene from the blue Asiatic dayflower. Some consider these "frankenflowers" unnatural and unsettling. Others see potential for new orchid varieties.
21. ORCHID_150125_417.JPG: De-drawing the Orchid Family Tree: Comparing DNA from different orchid species, scientists were surprised to find that some lookalikes are only distant kind, while seemingly dissimilar orchids are actually close relatives. Future botanists will be able to quickly compare entire orchid genomes to trace orchid evolution.
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