Orchid Memories and Mythology

Orchid Memories and Mythology

Orchid Memories

When I was a child, I used to see cracks or linings in many old buildings in our town of Mofasbal, mangoes, shrubs and all the other huge trees hanging somehow. Then I saw a crowd of green leaves hanging on the trunks of all the trees - its flowers glistening like dewdrops in the green ocean. Later, when I grew up, I came to know that these flower plants are called orchids. People used to say parasites, I found out that they are not actually parasites, but epiphytes . 


Growing I don't know how many fairy tales I have listened to with interest because they are fond of orchids. 


Orchis greek mythology

The ancient Greeks—whose word orkhis means testicle—gave the family its name, based on the appearance of the tuberous roots of a terrestrial species.  In classical mythology, Orchis, the son of a satyr and a nymph, was turned into a flower after his death.  In his Materia Medica, the first century A.D. Greek physician Dioscorides hypothesized that orchids influenced sexuality.  Ever since, people have associated the plant with virility, fertility, sex determination, and other aspects of reproduction, inspired perhaps by the exotic appearance, fragrance, and frankly erotic aspect of its flower’s sexual parts.  The English Victorian John Ruskin called the flowers “prurient apparitions.” 


Early Greek parents believed they could control the sex of their unborn children with orchid roots.  If the father ate large, new tubers, the child would be male; if the mother ate small tubers, the child would be female.  European scholars believed that orchids sprang from ground on which animals had bred.  They were thought to be the food of satyrs and powerful aphrodisiacs.  In ancient China and Japan they were revered for their esthetic and artistic value.  Confucius compared the orchid flower to the superior man and its scent to the pleasures of friendship.  In modern times the genus Paphiopedilum was named for Phaphos, a temple where the love goddess Aphrodite was worshipped.


Uses of Orchids

Orchids have been used as a source of food, medicines, religious charms, adhesives, perfumes, straw, and flavorings—vanilla being the most widespread—as well as aphrodisiacs.  They are thought to cure fever, arthritis, dysentery, cough, headaches, and wounds in many parts of the world.  They are made into a remedy for sick elephants in Malaysia and a kind of ice cream in Turkey (where its name means “fox testicles”) that is said to prevent cholera, heal the spleen, and ease childbirth.




One is that the Greek mythology says that Baccas, the god of suras, one day hosted a lavish banquet in his palace. There he invited his friend Orkis. There were beautiful beauties in the palace of Bakkas. They all look like angels. Orcis is fascinated by one of them and falls in love. As soon as he heard this, Baccas became very angry. He then cut the orcs into pieces and scattered them here and there.


Wherever the body of the unfortunate Orchis fell, a strange tree was born. All those trees are not like any other tree in the world. Their flowers are not like all other flowers. That is why all those trees are named after the orchids "Orchid."


A special part of Orchis' body fell into the middle of the sea. Aphrodite, another ancient Greek goddess, was born with the foamy waves of the sea. In Greek, the word aphrodite means 'sea.' She is the goddess of love and beauty. At one time the Greeks also worshiped her as the goddess of the sea. The Romans named it Venus. After birth, Aphrodite slowly rises from the sea and stays in the city of Paphos on the coast. The name Pendulum orchid comes from Paphos, the memorable city of Aphrodite, which means 'feet' in Latin. Gradually the slipper takes the form of a slipper. From there - Ladies Slipper. Ladies Slipper is the name of an original orchid. Ladies Slipper is therefore considered to be the darling daughter of all orchids.


I do not know if any part of the body of the orchid has fallen in Bangladesh, but orchids are not rare in the forests of this country. Those who know orchids know that this flower is not from our country. But a lot of orchids are grown in Bangladesh which many call parasites. They are not parasites but parasites. They grip old tree stones or twigs and absorb moisture. The orchard itself makes food from water, air, dust and light. The tree that holds the orchid does not die. This proves that orchids are not parasites. Inanimate brick walls, plants growing on something like this are also called parasitic. Bots, wings, and horses also fall into the semi-parasitic.

 On the other hand, the parasite that takes shelter in the tree reduces the freshness and growth rate of the tree. Weak fruits and seeds are produced, the tips become dry, various diseases occur. Many times the tree dies prematurely.


I was talking about orchids. Its family is huge. There are about 900 species and more than 30,000 species. Orchids are so popular because of their attractive color, excellent texture, aroma, medicinal properties and longevity.


Went to Cox's Bazar a few years ago. I have seen ringcostiles, foxtail hanging on the branches of many trees in several hills of Ramu. Many orchids grow in the forests of the Netong Hills, bordering the Naf River bordering Teknaf. There is also Gazipur forest in Gazipur. They are various species of orchids of Vandagan. How many more gardens like this - how many unnamed orchids are blooming day after day with all the wonderful flowers blooming.

The orchid has fascinated and inspired humans throughout recorded history and quite probably earlier.  Its real and imagined qualities are reflected in the folklore of many cultures, much of it concerning health and reproduction. 



 American myth

Before I end the orchid memory, let me tell you another story about the birth of orchids. This is the American myth. The story of Orchid's birth is different here. The Totenacs once lived in the Mezantala Valley in the Gulf of Mexico. They believed that tropical orchids were born from the blood of Princess Janat. The princess used to love a young man. But the king did not like it. When he married the young man he loved, his father abandoned him and banished him to the forest. And at the king's command the sepoys beheaded the young man. Then the tropical orchid was born where the blood fell on the ground. This belief about the birth of orchids has been prevalent among Americans for a long time.


The ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius, amazed at the variety of orchid flowers, called it the "best flower." The philosophers Plato, Aristotle, and Theophrastus affectionately named Eful the Orchis. This name has evolved into Orchid. Many species of orchids are born in our subcontinent. Since the seventeenth century, various researchers and collectors have been trying to collect and develop orchids.


 Orchids, published in 1969 by Lane Publishing Co. from California, provides an introduction to the botanical world of orchids. Research has not stopped. I have seen that the scientists of the Floriculture Division of the Agricultural Research Institute of our country have been collecting various wild orchids from different parts of the country for a long time and identifying them.  

 Research is going on in the country and abroad. Let him go. We are ordinary people and it is not our job to read all the research books. 


We only see the flowers bloom,

Then the sea of ​​our wonder rises and shakes !!



 
Also read   Dendrobium aphyllum

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