Orchid Types: The Mystery Behind The Black Orchid

The color black has been associated with everything mystical, supernatural, and even evil things throughout history. In the old days black flowers were believed to have evil powers that were used by witches in their magic. But do these black flowers really exist? Is the black orchid real? And has anyone ever seen one in person?

The truth is if we are talking about black flowers alone, yes, there are plenty of them. Some of them may not really be as black as they claim to be. Some colors are near black, such as deep purple or violet.

But at first glance, they might look black. The name "black orchid" on the other hand, is claimed by many species of orchids. And if you check them out, none of them are really even black. Upon searching Wikipedia alone, you will see around 10 orchid types on the list. Upon checking each one, I did not find a single orchid that has a pure black flower. Most of these orchids do have a single characteristic that are of the color black - a black lip, petals with black stripes or spots - but none of them really look black.

One of the blogs I recently read said that their country's national flower is the famous black orchid. The picture on the other hand shows nothing of a black orchid. The species it is talking about is the Prosthechea cochleata. It didn't mention why it was named that way, and there were no signs of it being black at all. Confusing, right? Black orchids with nothing black about them.

Meanwhile, the Coelogyne pandurata is one species of orchid from Borneo that is also called the "black orchid". This one does have something black in it flower - its lips, which in contrast with its light green petals stand out.The frustration might be getting to you, as it obviously is getting to me, but I have yet to see a real black orchid. If you think about it, there are so many hybrids of orchids in the world, there might be one that is really black.

Some people may really have black orchids in their garden born from hybrid orchid propagation, and I imagine these are great conversation starters. But until I see it with my own two eyes, I have yet to prove the existence of these orchids. Until then, black orchids are nothing but a myth.


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Mary Ann Berdak is the publisher of www.OrchidCareZone.com - a top online destination for orchid care tips and advice.