WebLibNetOrchid
Late Cretaceous – Present
| image = White orchid in Clara bog. 03.jpg
| image_caption =
| taxon = Orchidaceae
| authority = Juss.
| type_genus = ''Orchis''
| type_genus_authority = Tourn. ''ex'' L.
| subdivision_ranks = Subfamilies
| subdivision =
* Apostasioideae Horaninov
* Cypripedioideae Kosteletzky
* Epidendroideae Kosteletzky
* Orchidoideae Eaton
* Vanilloideae Szlachetko
| range_map = Orchidaceae.png
| range_map_caption = Distribution range of family Orchidaceae
}}Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Earth except glaciers. The world's richest diversity of orchid genera and species is in the tropics.
Orchidaceae is one of the two largest families of flowering plants, the other being the Asteraceae. It contains about 28,000 currently accepted species in 702 genera.
The Orchidaceae family encompasses about 6–11% of all species of seed plants. The largest genera are ''Bulbophyllum'' (2,000 species), ''Epidendrum'' (1,500 species), ''Dendrobium'' (1,400 species) and ''Pleurothallis'' (1,000 species). It also includes ''Vanilla'' (the genus of the vanilla plant), the type genus ''Orchis'', and many commonly cultivated plants such as ''Phalaenopsis'' and ''Cattleya''. Moreover, since the introduction of tropical species into cultivation in the 19th century, horticulturists have produced many hybrids and cultivars. Provided by Wikipedia