Orchids: Interlocking Science and Beauty
January 24, 2015 - April 26, 2015
National Museum of Natural History
The entrance vignette featuring a hand-painted mural and reproduction of a ship’s cabin tells the story of the origins of orchid collecting.
An extended view of the exhibit’s vignettes highlights how orchids have captivated and impacted lives since their exotic beauty was first discovered centuries ago.
This vignette spotlights Orchidelirium, a period when people were obsessed with possessing the biggest and best orchids. A giant reproduction of an image from the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Gardens serves as a backdrop for this blossom-filled reproduction of a Victorian-styled greenhouse.
“Orchids: Interlocking Science and Beauty”, explores the rich crossroads where orchid botany, horticulture, and technology connect. Featuring orchids from the Smithsonian Gardens Orchid Collection and the United States Botanic Garden Orchid Collection, the exhibit looks at how new ideas, technologies, and inventions change the way we study, protect, and enjoy orchids. Each new innovation is like a puzzle piece: it fills in gaps in our knowledge and creates a larger and more complex picture of orchids.
“Orchids: Interlocking Science and Beauty”, will explored the rich crossroads where orchid botany, horticulture, and technology connect. Featuring orchids from the Smithsonian Gardens Orchid Collection and the United States Botanic Garden Orchid Collection, the exhibit looks at how new ideas, technologies, and inventions change the way we study, protect, and enjoy orchids. Each new innovation is like a puzzle piece: it fills in gaps in our knowledge and creates a larger and more complex picture of orchids.
At first, Victorian explorers and horticulturists found ways to transport and grow exotic orchids. More recently, we developed labs to grow these flowers on a massive scale (though some labs concentrate on learning about wild orchids). Our relatively recent awareness of the need to protect wild orchids has spurred conservation efforts, both in nature reserves and in labs.
The future of orchids is full of possibility. Today we use DNA technologies to create new orchid hybrids, and identify wild species and their symbiotic fungi. Meanwhile, imaging technologies reveal new facets of these fascinating flowers.