	Botany and Botanical Art Education
	HOME	ABOUT AP	HERBARIUM	RESOURCES	STORE	CONTACT	SITEMAP

Herbarium

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Introduction
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Amaryllis
Arum
Iris
Lily
Orchid
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

We honor your Privacy!

Orchid Family (monocot) - Orchidaceae

Family Characteristics

Characteristic	Description
Sepals	3, look like petals [see Fig. 1 (large )].
Petals	3; two look like simple petals, one is a modified petal called a lip or labellum (label = lip) [see Fig. 2 (large )].
Flowers	Arranged on an inflorescence called a spike; lower flowers bloom first; bilaterally symmetrical or zygomorphic (zygo = yoke, morph = form) [see Fig. 3 (large )].
Stamens	Fused with pistil to form a structure called a column [see Fig. 4 (large )].
Style/Stigma	Fused with stamen to form the column [see Fig. 4 (large )].
Ovary	Inferior (located below where petals and sepals attach).
Fruit	Capsule.
Leaves	Simple, linear, alternate [see Fig. 5 (large )].
Roots	Fibrous, fleshy, cord-like; on rhizomes extending from swollen stems (i.e., psuedobulbs) [see Fig. 6 (large )], on corms; roots of epiphytic (epi = upon phyt = a plant) orchids are covered with a white layer of cells called a velamen. The velamen absorbs water [see Fig. 7 (large )].

Download .pdf file of this family [size = 576kb]

Get Acrobat Reader

Orchid images

What’s Going On? (Details of interest to the botanical artist)

Flower sketch [see Fig. 8 (large )]
Phalaenopsis inflorescence [see Fig. 9 (large )]

Landscape & Cut Flower Equivalents

Cymbidium (sympodial = many shoots, cluster of pseudobulbs; sym = with, together, pod = foot) [see Fig. 10 (large )]
Epidendrum (sympodial) [see Fig. 11 (large )]
Paphiopedilum (sympodial) [see Fig. 12 (large )]
Phalaenopsis (monopodial = one main stem; mono = one, pod = foot) [see Fig. 13 (large )]

Selected Resources for this Family

American Orchid Society. 1995 to present. http://www.aos.org.

The Society's website is a great place to learn about orchids, their history and their care, as well as conservation information, current research, orchid classes and events.

Cribb, Phillip and Michael Tibbs. 2004. A Very Victorian Passion: The Orchid Paintings of John Day. Blacker Publishing & The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. ISBN: 0500-97015-7.

This collection of orchid paintings from orchid enthusiast, John Day (1824-1888) is inspiring. This book contains only a sample of more than 2,300 orchids painted by Day that are housed at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Dunham, Kathy. 2004. Artistís Projects You Can Paint. International Artist Publishing, Inc. ISBN: 1-929834-50-0.

Step-by-step instruction on how to paint an orchid flower using vibrant complementary colors (86-93).

Glimn-Lacy, Janice and Peter B. Kaufman. 1984. Botany Illustrated. Chapman & Hall. ISBN: 0-412-07871-6.

Orchid illustration to color using colored pencils. Orchid parts are labeled and a color code is suggested. Coloring these illustrations is a good way for artists to acquaint themselves with orchid morphology. A very helpful exercise.

Greene, Gary. 1997. Creating Radiant Flowers in Colored Pencil. North Light Books. ISBN: 0-304-35828-2.

Instruction on how to create a colored pencil painting of a Ladyís Slipper orchid (91).

Griffiths, Mark. 2002. Orchids: From the Archives of the Royal Horticultural Society. Abrams Books. ISBN: 0-8109-0438-1.

This history book about orchids features 300 full-color plates of paintings completed by different artists, including Walter Hood Fitch. Artwork is from the collection of the Royal Horticultural Society.

Hickey, Michael and Clive King. 2000. The Cambridge Illustrated Glossary of Botanical Terms. Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 0-521-79401-3.

Artists will find the following illustrations very helpful: epiphytic orchid plant (169); types of pseudobulbs (169); types of flower orientation (170); flower morphology (170); pollinium types (171); column (172).

L.H. Bailey Hortorium, Cornell University. 1976. Hortus Third: A Concise Dictionary of Plants Cultivated in the United States and Canada. Vol. II. Reprinted in 2000 by Barnes & Noble, Inc. ISBN: 0-7607-2116-5.

Description of the Orchidaceae (795-797); illustrations of different morphological features found in this plant family (796).

McKinley, Michael. 2005. Ortho Complete Guide to Orchids. Ortho. ISBN: 0-89721-506-0.

Artists can learn about the history of orchids, orchid botany (14-31), how to purchase orchids, and how to care for them too. Twenty-nine genera and over 500 orchids are featured. A pronunciation guide is provided for each genera. This book is endorsed by the American Orchid Society.

Nash, Ned and Isobyl La Croix. 2005. Floraís Orchids. Timber Press. ISBN: 0-88192-721-X.

This book contains information for over 1,500 orchids. Beautiful photography. Contains a cultivation guide for each of the orchids featured in the book.

Riley, John J. and David P. Banks. 2002. Orchids of Australia. Princeton University Press. ISBN: 0-691-11490-0.

Artists can learn about 150 of Australiaís native orchids by studying the life-size colored pencil paintings of Australian botanical artist, John J. Riley. Opposite each illustration is information about each plant.

Sheehan, Tom and Marion. 1994. An Illustrated Survey of Orchid Genera. Timber Press. ISBN: 0-88192-288-9.

Excellent reference covering 158 genera. Each genus description includes a pronunciation guide and is accompanied by a color plate featuring a painting of a representative plant in bloom and a dissected flower. The glossary (381-412) contains terminology and many, many illustrations artists will find useful and educational.

Sherwood, Shirley. 1996. Contemporary Botanical Artists: The Shirley Sherwood Collection. Stirling Publishing Co., Inc. ISBN: 0-297-82270-5.

Botanical paintings of orchids by Katie Lee (122), Kate Nessler (148), Pandora Sellars (172), Sirol Sherlock (185), Sheila Siegerman (186), and Yoko Uchijo (202).

Sherwood, Shirley. 2001. A Passion for Plants: Contemporary Botanical Masterworks. Stirling Publishing Co., Inc. ISBN: 0-304-35828-2.

Botanical paintings of orchids by Carol Woodin (22, 240-242), Francis Bauer (23), AndrÈ Demonte (58), Margaret Mee (147), Kate Nessler (150), Pandora Sellars (201), and Harry Zelenko (246).

Watson, L. and M.J. Dallwitz. 1992 onwards. The Families of Flowering Plants: Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification, Information Retrieval. Version: 23rd October 2005. http://delta-intkey.com

Detailed information about the Orchidaceae, links to images of botanical paintings, color photographs and line drawings.

Wunderlich, Eleanor B. 1996. Botanical Illustration in Watercolor. Watson-Guptill Publications. ISBN: 0-8230-0530-5.

Suggestions on how to draw a Ladyís Slipper orchid (52-53); tips about drawing thick leaves that are applicable to the drawing of orchid leaves (58); review of a painting of Laelia cattleya (109) and Paphilopedilum sp. (112).

Zomlefer, Wendy B. 1994. Guide to Flowering Plant Families. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN: 0-8078-4470-5.

Detailed information about the Orchidaceae (293-296); illustrations (294-295).