The Wonderland Orchid World Tour Find the biggest, the boldest and the most bizarre orchids on the planet
Orchids are the flower of mystery. Flamboyant, heavenly scented, and hauntingly beautiful. They may look like delicate supermodels but can be as tough as old boots. Some outwit insects, deceiving them in ingenious ways, and seem more like creatures than plants.
Through the Nature pathway we look at the orchid family and flower structure. We look at the often devious methods orchids use for pollination and take in the New Zealand story, habitat and hybridisation techniques. Discover how an orchid breeder might grow more than half a million seedlings a year in search of the best new hybrids. Using The Hybridiser touch screen, try your hand at creating your own hybrid.
Ewen Cameron, Auckland Museum’s Curator of Botany, looks after a collection of over 330,000 different botanical specimens from the foliage of giant trees to the tiny algae that grow in stagnant ponds, including many native orchid specimens.
Botany Curator Introduction Audio Clip (4:14) Download Transcript Hear Ewen Cameron's interesting talk about the Museum's collection and an insight into what people find so fascinating about the orchid.
