WHERE DO ORCHIDS GROW?
Orchids are amazing! Different orchids live from the Equator north to the Arctic Circle and south to the southern tip of South America, and from sea level to 5000 m. high on mountains. Some of these orchids live in trees. Others live on rocks or in the ground. Canadian orchids often live in places like bogs, swamps, forests, and meadows. The soil in these places is almost always wet. This makes the soil acid, or sour. Most plants can not get the nutrients they need from acid soils, and so they can not live on them. Canadian orchids can and do. How does this make them even more special? THE LIFE OF A CANADIAN ORCHID – THE SHOWY LADY’S SLIPPER (Cypripedium reginae) Only the roots of the magnificent Showy Lady’s Slipper orchid survive winter, under a blanket of snow. As spring arrives, warm sunshine and longer days help the orchid plant to make leaves. These leaves are green because they contain chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is a chemical that lets green plants make their own food. They do thi
