Kunstformen der Natur, 1904
The 74th plate from Ernst Haeckel's Kunstformen der Natur (Art Forms of Nature), showing various types of orchids.

Species:

1. Odontoglossum vaevium 2. Oncidium kramerianum
3. Odontoglossum ramosissimum
4. Odontoglossum schroederianum
5. Cattleya ballantiniana
6. Cattleya mendellii
7. Phragmipedium spec. (as Cypripedium lemoinieri)
8. Cattleya rochellensis
9. Paphiopedilum Leeanum (Paphiopedilum insigne × spicerianum)
10. Odontoglossum wattianum
11. Cattleya labiata
12. Epidendrum atropurpureum
13. Paphiopedilum argus
14. Paphinia rugosa
15. Zygopetalum xanthinum
16. Oncidium laxense

Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel (February 16, 1834 – August 9, 1919), also written von Haeckel, was an eminent German biologist, naturalist, philosopher, physician, professor and artist who discovered, described and named thousands of new species, mapped a genealogical tree relating all life forms, and coined many terms in biology, including phylum, phylogeny, ecology and the kingdom Protista.

A majority of orchids are perennial epiphytes, which grow anchored to trees or shrubs in the tropics and subtropics. Other species are lithophytes, growing on rocks or very rocky soil, or are terrestrial. Nearly all temperate zone orchids are terrestrial.

Some orchids, like Neottia and Corallorhiza, lack chlorophyll and are unable to photosynthesize. Instead, these species obtain energy and nutrients by parasitising soil fungi through the formation of orchid mycorrhizas. The fungi involved include those that form ectomycorrhizas with trees and other woody plants, parasites such as Armillaria, and saprotrophs. These orchids are known as myco-heterotrophs, but were formerly (incorrectly) described as saprophytes due to the belief that they gained their nutrition by breaking down organic matter. While only a few species are achlorophyllous holoparasites, all orchids are myco-heterotrophic during germination and seedling growth and even photosynthetic adult plants may continue to obtain carbon from their mycorrhizal fungi.

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