Orchids

Orchids (Orchidaceae family) are among the biggest and most diverse of the flowering plant (angiospermae) families, with over 800 described genera and 25,000 (some sources give 30,000) species, and another 100,000 + hybrids and cultivars formed by horticulturalists. The Kew World Checklist of Orchids includes about 24,000 conventional species. As regards 800 new species are added each year. Orchids, through their floral complexity and their connections with pollinators and their symbiosis with mycorrhizae, are considered by some, along with the grasses, to be examples of the most difficult floral evolution known.