Orchid Species

Black and White pictures by QT Luong

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For most people, the name "orchid" often conjures up only a few dozens of different images, most of them man made hybrids, mass-propagated by the floral industry and widely commercialized for their decorative value. Despite having the largest number of species, equally -if not more- showy and fascinating, the commercial species growers are far and few in between. With the ongoing habitat destruction around the world, there is a heightened interested in preservation and cultivation of orchid species. With that in mind, this image gallery illustrates the splendor of the lesser known orchid species. Most of the images are taken from our home-grown orchid collection. There are many orchid photos on the internet, but the majority of them are close-ups of only the flowers. In this series, the entire plant is included as much as possible in the spirit of a botanical illustration. To achieve this goal without compromising the clarity and details, many of these images are assembled from a series of photographs. Enjoy!

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