The first orchid from the western hemisphere to reach Europe was vanilla, sent to Spain in 1515. Orchids are the largest family of flowering plants, with an estimated of 20,000 to 30,000 naturally occurring species.
 Orchids are commercially grown in a sugar substance similar to Jello. Tropical orchids generally grown on trees or rocks as air plants. Such plants called ‘epiphytes’, are not parasites and use the tree or rocks for support only.
Of the 1,200 plus species thus far cataloged from Costa Rica, 88% are epiphytes. The best time in the year for orchids in Costa Rica in the wild is the beginning of the rainy season. |
