Nature & Wildlife

Orchids in North Cyprus

The family Orchidaceae, thought to have originated from the Liliaceae family, is one of the largest and most evolved plant families in the entire plant kingdom. Orchids (Orchidaceae) comprise the most diverse family of plants, with over 25,000 described species in 400 to 800 genera worldwide. The Amazon is among the world's richest sources of native orchids, from where thousands of species are described and many more undoubtedly remain to be discovered. Orchids are differ from other flowering plants because they have: their stamens and pistils (male and female parts) fused together in one structure known as a column three petals and three petal-like sepals usually has one different petal that forms a lip or labellum making the flower laterally symmetrical the pollen is usually bound together in a few large masses known as pollinia their flowers twists around during development known as resupination.

Ecology of Orchids

The ecology of orchids is a complex topic as the flowers themselves. Orchids have a large habitat diversity and can be found almost anywhere in the world, especially in tropical and warm temperate regions. Many orchids live on other plants (epiphytic), on decayed material (saphrophytic) or independent as usual plants (auto trophic). Nearly all orchids are pollinated by insects notably bees and wasps, but also butterflies, ants, flies and others. Moreover, almost every orchid species is pollinated by just one or two kinds of insects. Even though there are plentiful, many of them may go extinct if its pollinator insect dies out.

North Cyprus Orchids

Because of their rarity and beauty, orchids hold a special fascination for all naturalists. At North Cyprus, the orchid flora consists of 32 confirmed species, subspecies and varieties and a further three or five which presence needs verifying. Some species will be familiar to botanists from north-western Europe, such as pyramidal orchid and autumn lady's tresses, but there are also more exotic species including violet limodore, tongue-flowered serapias, naked man orchid and more. No doubt more observant botanists will find these and other orchid species more frequently but we think it s true to say that they are localised and hence always a delight when stumbled upon.