Celebrating orchids

Today is International Orchid Day where the flower dubbed the ‘queen of the plant kingdom’ is celebrated.

There are more than 20,000 different orchid types, and 28 of them grow naturally in the Cayman Islands, where the banana orchid is the national flower.

International Orchid Day, which falls on the first Thursday in September, was first designated on 2012.

A selection of orchids found in the Cayman Islands

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William Chisholm, treasurer of the Cayman Islands Orchid Society, says the islands have a rich history of flora. Of its 28 endemic orchid species, four are found only in the Cayman Islands.

“Caymanians have had a long and lasting appreciation for orchids, as evidenced by our choice of national flower Myrmecophila thomsoniani var. thomsoniana, affectionately referred to locally as the banana orchid, or sometimes as the Grand Cayman orchid to distinguish it from the Cayman Brac orchid, Myrmecophila thomsoniani var. minor.

“The Grand Cayman orchid is white with a purple labellum while the Cayman Brac variety is yellow with purple labellum.”

The four endemic species of orchids are the ghost orchid (Dendrophylax fawcettii), King’s encyclia (Encyclia Kingsii), and the two varieties of the banana orchid (Myrmecophila thomsoniani var. thomsoniana and Myrmecophila thomsoniani var. minor).

All four are considered to be endangered or critically endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.

The wild banana orchid was chosen as a national symbol of the Cayman Islands in 1996, along with the Cayman parrot and silver thatch palm.

Orchids are so beloved in Cayman, that they have featured on local postage stamps eight time since 1962. They also appeared in 1971, 1985, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2005 and 2020. Some have been issues dedicated exclusively to Cayman Islands orchids, while others have had mixed themes that included orchids.

The Cayman Islands Orchid Society holds an annual exhibition and sale of orchids at the Queen Elizabeth Botanical Park as its major fundraising event. This year, more than 2,500 orchids, which included 166 different varieties, were sold.

The orchid society, based in Grand Cayman, is an active club with dedicated members who promote interest in and knowledge of orchids and all things related to the cultivation, preservation, propagation, conservation and enjoyment of the flowers.

For more information about the Cayman Islands Orchid Society, visit its Facebook page, or email [email protected].