If you had to bet on the most diverse type of flower on Earth, orchids win it easily. Botanists have identified over 28,000 different species - and new ones are still being discovered in remote rainforests every year. That’s more species than birds and mammals put together.
Orchids grow almost everywhere except deserts and Antarctica. They’ve evolved into clingy jungle vines, ground-loving woodland flowers, tiny stamp-sized blooms and giants over a metre across. Their seeds are so fine they look like dust and can drift hundreds of kilometres on the wind.
Vanilla is the only orchid most people eat. The flavour comes from a long green seed pod produced by a climbing orchid called Vanilla planifolia. Each flower has to be hand-pollinated and the pods take months to cure - which is why real vanilla is one of the world’s priciest spices.
