i am a real orcid junkie now!/tacca

[dionysus]

i am a real orchid junkie now! i bought a butterfly wing orchid and enherited a tacca plant from my grandma. i already have a lady slipper orchid along wiht the other ones. hey, has anyone ever heard of tacca or bat plant/orchid? i searche dit and it was a very difficult thing to do. i guess that it is not listed in the orchidaceae phylum, but could it still be considered an orchid? has anyone had any experience with these plants? the site was vague on growing details. any help is very helpful. thanks

[kmarch]

What are you referring to as a "butterfly wing" orchid? Could you post a pic or direct us to a pic on the web? I've grown orchids for more than 10 years and have never heard the common name of "butterfly wing orchid." Does it have a tag?

I have heard of a bat plant and I think they're quite cool, but a bat plant is not an orchid. I'd Google "bat plant" to see what sultural info you could find. Also someone here might grow them and have some advice.

There are lots of plants which have "orchid" in their common names which are not orchids at all. Examples include "Peacock Orchids" (Acidanthera - closely related to Gladiolus), the "Poor Man's Orchid" (Schizanthus), and the "Orchid Tree" (Bauhinia).

[Aniko]

I think that butterfly wing is a spontaneous "synonime" of moth orchid, meaning Phalaenopsis....
A picture would solve the puzzle.

[palito]

taccas aren't orchids, and are very easy indoor plants. keep them moist all times. just dont overwater or the roots and tuber will quickly rot.

[dionysus]

right, i suppose that there are a lot of plants with orchid in their name but don't fall under orchidaceae. i think that orchids have to be epiphyteous(air plant essentially, or potential parasite) to be a true orchid. not sure though.

yes i was referring to Phalaenopsis. i couldn't think of hte name. thanks for the info on tacca.

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by dionysus

right, i suppose that there are a lot of plants with orchid in their name but don't fall under orchidaceae. i think that orchids have to be epiphyteous(air plant essentially, or potential parasite) to be a true orchid. not sure though.

The characteristic that makes an orchid an orchid is the configuration of their reproductive organs. Flowering plants (like a lily or tulip for example) have seperate pistils and stamens but in orchids, these two structures are fused into one structure called the column. Orchids are the only flowering plants to bear this structure and this is what distinguishes an orchid form other flowering plants.

Some orchids are epiphytes as you suspected, but being an epiphyte means that the plants grow in trees rather than in soil. Some but not all orchids are epiphytes. Others are lithophytes (grow on rocks) and still others are terrestrials (grow in dirt or other organic matter). Orchids are neither parasitic, as they do not feed off the tree on which they are growing, nor are they "air plants" as they do not rely on moisture and nutrients obtained from the air alone.

Happy Growing!