Feb
15

There’s a good reason the annual orchid exhibition opens in February

Escape the winter cold and step into a floral oasis in the Kogod Courtyard with Smithsonian Gardens’ 24th annual orchid exhibition.

Purple orchid

Brassocattleya, “Beautiful Morning” (Smithsonian Gardens)

A joint venture of Smithsonian Gardens and the U.S. Botanic Garden,“Orchids: Amazing Adaptations,” will be on display in the Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery, Feb. 16 through April 28. The exhibition explores how orchids have adapted to a variety of habitats and how humans can work to protect them.

Orchids live on every continent except Antarctica. Over time, they have adapted to their habitats, climate conditions and other organisms, forming close relationships with the animals and pollinators. Drawing on the living collections of the Smithsonian Gardens and the U.S. Botanic Garden, the exhibition will feature thousands of orchids of several hundred varieties. Throughout the exhibition, visitors will learn how orchids have adapted to their many different environments and how an orchid’s shape, color or smell can tell a lot about its habitat.

The Smithsonian Gardens Orchid Collection was established in 1974 with five plants, It has since grown into nearly 8,000 specimens. The Nationally Accredited Orchid Collection serves as a repository of orchid biodiversity and is a valuable resource for scientific research, educational programs and exhibitions.

“Orchids: Amazing Adaptations” is part of “Habitat,” an ongoing series from Smithsonian Gardens exploring the importance of habitats and how to protect them. “Habitat” is the first in a series of changing exhibitions connecting all of the Smithsonian Gardens’ spaces with a single theme. From 2019 to 2020, “Habitat” will feature a variety of indoor and outdoor displays, exhibits and educational programs across the Smithsonian.

Drooping orchid

Orchid Bulbophyllum longissimum (Smithsonian Gardens)

Small ruffled orchid

Psychopsis mariposa “Mountain” (Smithsonian Gardens)

Yellow and purple orchid

Epicattleya Rene Marques “Flame Thrower” (Smithsonian Gardens

Smallpink orchid

Phragmipedium besseae (Smithsonian Gardens)

Small violet orchid

Laeliocattleya Santa Barbara Sunset “Showtime” (Smithsonian Gardens

Orchids

Vandachostylis Nopporn “Orange Rosy” (Smithsonian Gardens

 

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Posted: 15 February 2019
About the Author:

Alex di Giovanni is primarily responsible for "other duties as assigned" in the Office of Communications and External Affairs. She has been with the Smithsonian since 2006 and plans to be interred in the Smithson crypt.