How long have they been cultivated?
In the West, the first tropical orchids arrived in Europe in the mid 18th century from the Caribbean region; in China, Korea and Japan, esteemed varieties have been grown since ancient times, around 3,000 years or more. And in other areas, indigenous peoples have marveled at great beauty and desired that it be close at hand, even as we do now, and have taken a plant or two from the surrounding forest to place on a handy rock or log…perhaps for tens of thousands of years.
