WASHINGTON, DC.- Smithsonian Gardens and the U.S. Botanic Garden opened the 20th annual orchid exhibition, “Orchids: Interlocking Science and Beauty,” at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History Jan. 24. The exhibition explores the connections between botany, horticulture and technology and examines how new ideas and inventions change the way people study, protect and enjoy orchids. Hundreds of living specimens from the renowned Smithsonian Gardens’ Orchid Collection and the U.S. Botanic Garden are on display through April 26.
“Orchids: Interlocking Science and Beauty,” takes visitors on a journey from past to present, starting in the Victorian era during the height of orchid exploration and discovery. The journey continues through the 19th century as orchid collecting grew into “orchidelirium,” when private collections filled ornate greenhouses and a single orchid could cost thousands of dollars.
Proceeding into the present day, visitors can reflect on the human impact on the environment and the growing need to protect wild orchids. Displays highlighting new technologies for orchid hybridization and the commercial industry are intermingled with examples of ex-situ efforts by botanic gardens to conserve and propagate native orchids.
As the exhibit concludes, visitors are given a glimpse into the future, where new orchid discoveries and innovations take place on a molecular level. DNA sequencing of individual orchid species may help scientists better understand the complicated evolutionary relationships among the estimated 25,000 species in this family.
“Most people don’t realize that the same technologies that gave us smart phones and social media have also revolutionized orchid science,” said Tom Mirenda, orchard specialist at Smithsonian Gardens. “Our orchid exhibits have always explored the importance of plants to various cultures. But the most meaningful and revolutionary cultural shifts in the digital age are the result of advances in technology.”
Visitors of all ages are invited to explore the world of orchids up close and hands on at the Orchid Family Festival in the Evans Gallery at the National Museum of Natural History Saturday, Feb. 21, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Presented in conjunction with “Orchids: Interlocking Science and Beauty,” this free event will feature activities that will bring the exhibition to life. Visitors will be able to make their own miniature Wardian case (an early type of a terrarium), create field journals for orchid observations and fashion beautiful orchid corsages to wear. Orchid experts from Smithsonian Gardens and the U.S. Botanic Garden will be available to answer questions and talk about the orchids from their collections.
