As
part of our 125th Anniversary celebration at Stein Your Florist Co.
we are sharing a year of floral education, November 1, 2012 thru October 31,
2013. Each day we will post something new on our Facebook page to share
our knowledge of our favorite things, flowers and plants and we'll be updating
our blog every 5 days or so. No need for pencils and notebooks, just sharing
some simple lessons in floristry.
Day 316 - Much of the reason orchids are so
widespread is thanks in part to humans' affinity for and desire to grow them. It
is thought that the symmetry of the flower could have a lot to do with why
people are so fond of orchids. An orchid has bilateral symmetry — like a human
face — so if a line is drawn vertically down the middle of the flower, the two
halves are mirror images of each other.
Day 317 - Orchids are
masters of deception. Orchids deceive insects into pollinating
them. The reproductive parts of many orchid flowers are shaped and colored to
look like the kind of insect they hope to attract. Once the insect is
interested, the orchid's pollen sticks to the bug until it flies off to find
another orchid that it mistakes for a mate.
Day 318 - Pollen from an ancient orchid was
found on the back of a bee encased in amber, as detailed in a 2007 study in the
journal Nature. The fossil was dated to around 10 million or 15 million years
ago, but it is suspected that the orchid family is far older. Some research
even dates some species of orchid to around 120 million years ago, before the
continents split into their current form.
Two species of orchids whose natural habitats are thousands of miles
apart are actually closely related. Scientists think that the plants probably
had a common ancestor before they were separated by continental drift.
Day 319 - Perhaps one of the most popular
species of orchids, the "flat leafed" vanilla plant is also one of
the most widespread. Horticulturalists all over Latin America cultivate the
plant for its flavorful charms.
Day 320 - Researchers at the John Innes
Center and the University of East Anglia, both located in Norwich in the United
Kingdom, studied how petals and leaves grow in a type of small flowering plant
called Arabidopsis.
They discovered that concealed maps within the flower buds are made up of
patterns of arrows that act as instructions for how each cell in the bud should
grow. As such, the maps essentially influence a flower bud's cell polarity, or
the functions of the cells. The study's findings not only shed light on why
geranium petals are unlike rose petals, they also explain why an individual
flower's petals and leaves are different shapes.
Day 316 - Much of the reason orchids are so
widespread is thanks in part to humans' affinity for and desire to grow them. It
is thought that the symmetry of the flower could have a lot to do with why
people are so fond of orchids. An orchid has bilateral symmetry — like a human
face — so if a line is drawn vertically down the middle of the flower, the two
halves are mirror images of each other. 
Day 318 - Pollen from an ancient orchid was
found on the back of a bee encased in amber, as detailed in a 2007 study in the
journal Nature. The fossil was dated to around 10 million or 15 million years
ago, but it is suspected that the orchid family is far older. Some research
even dates some species of orchid to around 120 million years ago, before the
continents split into their current form.
Two species of orchids whose natural habitats are thousands of miles
apart are actually closely related. Scientists think that the plants probably
had a common ancestor before they were separated by continental drift.
Day 320 - Researchers at the John Innes
Center and the University of East Anglia, both located in Norwich in the United
Kingdom, studied how petals and leaves grow in a type of small flowering plant
called Arabidopsis.
They discovered that concealed maps within the flower buds are made up of
patterns of arrows that act as instructions for how each cell in the bud should
grow. As such, the maps essentially influence a flower bud's cell polarity, or
the functions of the cells. The study's findings not only shed light on why
geranium petals are unlike rose petals, they also explain why an individual
flower's petals and leaves are different shapes.
