Orchidaceae, commonly referred to as the Orchid family, is a morphologically diverse and widespread family of plants in the monocot class. Many orchids grow great in a terrarium or vivarium. They will root to cork bark or driftwood. and grow epiphytically – that is, they don’t need to be planted in soil.

The orchid family is the second largest family of flowering plants, with between 21,950 and 26,049 currently accepted species, in 880 genera.

The largest genera are Bulbophyllum (2,000 species), Epidendrum (1,500 species), Dendrobium (1,400 species) and Pleurothallis (1,000 species).

The family also includes Vanilla (the genus of the vanilla plant), Orchis (type genus) and many commonly cultivated plants like some Phalaenopsis or Cattleya. Since the introduction of tropical species in the 19th century, horticulturists have produced more than 100,000 hybrids and cultivars.

The complex mechanisms which orchids evolve to achieve cross-pollination were investigated by Charles Darwin and described in his 1862 book Fertilisation of Orchids.

Orchidaceae occur in almost every habitat apart from glaciers. The great majority are found in the tropics, mostly Asia, South America and Central America, but they are also found above the Arctic Circle, in southern Patagonia, and even two species of Nematoceras on Macquarie Island, close to Antarctica.

Approximately 250 to 270 genera can be found in tropical America, 260 to 300 genera in tropical Asia, 230 to 270 genera in tropical Africa, 50 to 70 genera in Oceania (tropical Pacific Ocean islands including Australia), 40 to 60 genera in Europe and temperate Asia, and 20 to 26 genera in North America.

Orchids are easily distinguished from other plants, as they share some very evident traits. Among these: zygomorphic bilateral symmetry, many resupinate, one petal is always highly modified, stamens and carpels are fused, and the seeds are extremely small.

The text above is adapted from Wikipedia under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; photos are copyright 2011 Forest Frogs LLC and may not be used without permission.

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We’ve added a huge variety of products for every reptile or amphibian imaginable, plus, we’ve added categories for small animals, aquariums, cats, dogs, birds, and even some equine supplies!

Now, you don’t have to make several pet store stops. You can get the wide variety of reptile, amphibian, and small animal supplies that were always available at Rainforest Station, plus, if you order online by 5 p.m. Tuesday, you can pick up everything you need for your other pets at the store on Friday!

You’ll get the same great personal service you’ve always gotten, with a bigger selection than any other store in town, at the kind of prices you could only find on-line. It’s like having a small, friendly, family-owned pet store with a 1 million square foot pet supply warehouse in the back room.

Can’t make it to the store? We’ll ship your order right to your front door. And, if you order $75 or more, we’ll ship your order for $2.

Check out the website, and let us know what you think:

Click the Button to go to the On-line Store

Rainforest Station has beautifully colored corn snakes, leopard gecko babies, and bearded dragon babies that are ready for new homes. We have a large variety of poison dart frogs, with Dendrobates auratus, tinctorius azureus, tinctorius infer-Alanis, and leucomelas; many more species and morphs are available by special order. We also have veiled chameleons, Madagascar giant day geckos, forest armadillo lizards, desert iguanas, and many other new arrivals . Keep an eye out for new additions coming soon.

We’ve added to our collection of orchids and tropical plants, too. We carry a large variety of species orchids from Oak Hill Nursery, and hybrids from a number of growers.

And, we now have a wide variety of small furry critters including Richardson’s ground squirrels, short-tailed opossums, degus, fancy rats, hamster, gerbils, and more.

If you are looking for any other species, please drop us a line and we’ll do our best to track it down. And, of course, we have more roaches, crickets, meal worms, and fruit flies than you can shake a stick at.

We also carry a full line of products from manufacturers such as, Exo Terra, Zoo Med, Zilla, Flukers, Tetra, as well as an indoor greenhouse with a wide variety of tropical plants to furnish your naturalistic terrariums and vivariums.

You can shop on-line or stop by and see us. We’re just a mile east of the I-96 interchange, at 6248 28th St. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546. Or, we offer free delivery of items purchased on-line to any of the shows at which we are a vendor.

We now have a great selection of Tillandsia, often referred to as “air plants.” They get that name because they are epiphytes, often attaching themselves to tree branches in the understory. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and also suited to a variety of environments. So, whatever your terrarium setup (or even your household humidity) you can find a tillandsia to meet your needs.