Potted Orchids:
The Orchid Family, Orchidaceae, consists of 735+ genera and more than 17,000 species and are the largest group in the Plant Kingdom. Hawaii can only lay claim to a handful of native species, but the imports have certainly flourished in their adopted home.
Hawaii’s original orchid imports were introduced to the island in the early 20th century by wealthy collectors. The passion for these plants became widespread and over time, the prized collections were passed down from fathers to sons. Literally thousands of new varieties of orchids from Vandas to Cattleyas to Dendrobiums have been registered by Hawaiian hybridizers in the past decades.
The breeding methods have evolved from mericloning (asexual reproduction method) to gene-transformation method pioneered at the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR). These breeding programs have enabled orchid pot production gain momentum, as a commercial crop. Much of the hybridization of the Intergenerics (Brassia x) have been done in Hawaii.
