per·i·pa·tet·ic
ˌperēpəˈtedik/
adjective
  1. 1.
    traveling from place to place, especially working or based in various places for relatively short periods.
    "the peripatetic nature of military life"
    synonyms:nomadic, itinerant, traveling, wandering, roving, roaming, migrant,migratory, unsettled
    "I could never get used to her peripatetic lifestyle"
  2. 2.
    Aristotelian.
noun
  1. 1.
    a person who travels from place to place.
  2. 2.
    an Aristotelian philosopher.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Keeping It Short, Simple, and Sweet--Seriously--'Orchid' You Not!

Winter makes me long-winded. It must have something to do with those cold blasts of air sweeping out of the north and taking my breath away. I'm sorry! This short post will make amends, I hope. At the Gardening Friends of the Big Bend meeting last week, SAM and I had our first encounter with an orchid enthusiast. Mr. Jodie Shumaker of Florida Star Nursery and Supply Company in Marianna, Florida, presented a program that made me sit up and take notes. I'm pretty sure SAM enjoyed it too. What's not to enjoy about Red Velvet Cheesecake, among other snacks?


Wilsonara Lisa's Delight 'Rayna' Orchid
 As noted on a simple pad of paper, here are some of the things I learned (I hope I heard what was said and then read my chicken scratch correctly!):
  • Orchids have a lip or landing platform that attracts specific pollinators
  • There are only 4 pollen capsules per blossom but 25,000 pollen grains in each one
  • 100,000 seeds may form per seed pod and are carried by wind
  • Most orchids are epiphytic, meaning they live on other plants such as trees, often high above the ground
  • Some of them are terrestrial (the vanilla plant being one of them)
  • There is no food reserve stored in the seed as in most plants. A special fungus attacks the seed, sending its hyphae into the seed cell, which then acts like a guillotine, cutting the hyphae for its own consumption of the sugars and nutrients stored in the hyphae
  • There are even subterranean species living underground
  • A small clump of cells from the orchid's meristem can grow hundreds of plants, known as mericlones
  • Many intergeneric crosses may be created, and the Royal Horticultural Society keeps a register of the patents
  • It would be easy to get carried away with purchases when provided with as many choices as I had that evening. Good thing SAM was along. I bought one. That's it! Wilsonara Lisa's Delight 'Rayna' is a cross between Cochlioda, Odontoglossum, and Oncidium orchids

My Japanese blogging friend Sapphire (Through the Sapphire Sky) published a most interesting post last week to celebrate her upcoming blogiversary. She shared some of her favorite bloggers' sites, including mine! What a sweet thing to do. Seriously. She is kind, gentle, and modest. I love learning about Japanese art, culture, and just life in general through her eyes.

There is another special event taking place this weekend at the North Florida Research and Education Center. It's open to anyone with an interest in nature and gardening who lives in or might be passing through the Tallahassee area. A workshop on "Butterflies, Bees, and Bats" will be presented on Saturday morning. Here is a link with the specifics. I've heard there's to be a plant sale after the presentation. Do you think our porch at the apartment is full enough? Nah!

One more thing (I promise):  Mr. Hammons has provided a list of blogs where all of the clues to his mystery may be found. Click here for the list or click on the picture of the sailboat on my sidebar. Happy clue hunting and Valentine's Day!

20 comments:

  1. Orchids are so cool, esp. the ones that live in the wild! Glad to learn these interesting facts. ~karen

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  2. Your chicken scratch sure yielded a great deal great info. Orchids are so pretty. I haven't taken the leap yet but perhaps someday. Let us know how yours does.

    I love Sapphire's blog too. It's always so nice talking to her and learning about Japan. One day I hope to visit that part of the world. We shall see.

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  3. That sure is an intereting one you purchased! I love when one of those talks is so informative...it makes it all worth while (going). Hope you will be able to go to the one on bees, bats, and butterflies!

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  4. Sometimes I love orchids, but there are certainly some I do NOT even like. But at this time of year in the Midwest it sure is nice to hit the Meijer Gardens and see them when all that is around is snow, mud and water!

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  5. Thanks for this informative post about orchids! And thank you so much for your kind words which are more than I deserve. tina, thank you so much, too!
    I have one elementary question about "epiphytic" as it is a new word for me. Can I use this word as same as "parasiting"?

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  6. Thanks, Karen. I enjoyed your pics of fossils and shared them with SAM. I hope his ID of them helped out.

    Tina, I'm hoping that if I'm wrong about something in the notes someone who knows will correct me. Yes, I can see you visiting Japan soon, what with Mr. Fix-It getting ready to retire. It would be a great educational opportunity for your son, not to mention a chance to visit gardens to dream about for years to come. You don't have to mention that when you're presenting your argument:)

    Julie, I hope the orchid is as easy to care for as promised. It needs to be, since I'm the one who's going to take care of it. We're planning on going to the next event. I need some CEUs!

    CissB, I'm curious to know which ones you don't like. The fragrant ones? I've heard that some of them can overpower the senses. You're right, a visit to a greenhouse (in St. Louis we used to go to MOBOT's Climatron and the Jewel Box in Forest Park) can make you forget about winter at least for a few hours.

    Sapphire, you're welcome. According to what I've read, epiphytes are not parasitic. They get their food and water from rain, the air, and even the dust that settles on them. They just rely on other plants for mechanical support.

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  7. This is so informative.
    just imagine. . . . ..... ..25,000 pollen grains in each one...
    And lovely photographs.

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  8. I admire your self-discipline in purchasing only one orchid:) I haven't been bitten by the orchid bug yet, but I've been very tempted by the displays I've seen in the stores lately. The "Butterflies, Bees, and Bats" workshop sounds fascinating--if I lived closer, I'd join you for this one!

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  9. Orchids are so pretty but I must admit, you really got my attention when mentioning Red Velvet Cheesecake! Yummm...

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  10. I'm not much a fan of hot house flowers but it's good to know Orchids still grow in the wild. Nice trivia too.

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  11. Aren’t orchids fascinating? My grandfather in law used to raise them. I’m a fan of Sapphire too and had missed that post while I’ve been mostly offline for 2 weeks. Thanks for updating me.

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  12. Tell you what! I'll make you jealous. We've got a big orchid park/reservation in Cuba. It's ever so beautiful. Great post.

    Thanks for your thoughts about my latest post. Much appreciated.

    Greetings from London.

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  13. Haddock, it was difficult for me to believe that number could be true! My hat is off to the first person who took the time to count those grains. Thanks for stopping by.

    Rose, if SAM hadn't been present, who knows what I might have done? The presenter brought such a nice variety and made them seem so easy to grow. I wish you could join me for the workshop. There are more activities being planned so do try to come down here sometime. We're not that far away.

    Skeeter, it was the hit of the snack table. I need to do some investigating and find the recipe.

    Myne, orchids in the wild aren't common to this part of Florida, but other epiphytes are. Spanish moss is as common here as crabgrass is back where I'm from (Illinois), but most people seem to like it.

    Sarah, I'm glad to be of help. I wonder if your GIL kept a journal of his collection. It would be a fascinating family artifact to explore.

    ACIL, welcome and thanks for stopping by. If an opportunity ever presents itself to visit Cuba, you know where I'd be headed. Tina from In the Garden suggested I visit your site, and I'm so glad she did. I need to add it to my Bloglist so I can keep up with your posts. I admire your style and enthusiasm.

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  14. Oh, I love orchids! There's something so graceful about them.

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  15. Glad you're joining the A to Z Challenge and for putting the badge in your sidebar. I recognize your blog in my next "Thank You" post.

    Lee
    Tossing It Out and the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge 2011

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  16. Truly, your Japanese Blogger friend is sweet. But, above all, your blog is of course a beneficial one for many nature enthusiasts and fiction lovers like me ...

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  17. Thank you for following. I'm happy to follw you and, whoo hoo, one more follower and you have 100!

    My hub's going to Stuart next week on a bus trip.

    Love orchids!

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  18. I do love orchids but have always been "chicken" to try.

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  19. Dear Walk2write,
    thank you for those interesting informations on orchids! I have a lot of them on my windowsill and find them quite easy to keep and they flower well - though as a child, when I read Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe detective novels, I always thought they were difficult. But then they were also very, very expensive - nowadays I wonder how they can be so cheap (I have a beautiful Miltonia with "drops" in the drawing of her leaves, and she smells heavenly).

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  20. I agree, Talli! And the ones like mine with tiny flowers are amazing to behold.

    You're welcome, Lee. I'm going to start working on the entries now. Otherwise, I'll be in trouble. I'm used to posting just once a week and making it fairly long. This project of yours will be good for me. Trim the fat!

    How sweet of you to say that, Tomz! It's an honor to count you as a friend.

    Hello, Kittie, and thanks for the follow. Who will be the 100th, I wonder? I hope your husband enjoys his trip.

    TB, the good news is that the cost has come down considerably. You really ought to try one. I'll bet there's an orchid show this time of year somewhere close to you.

    Britta, I'm just getting started with the orchids so I have a lot to learn. I'm glad you mentioned that about flowers showing up in novels. It's not as common as it used to be. I wonder if anyone else finds that trend a little disturbing?

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