In Europe, an interest in orchids can be traced back to Greek and Roman times. At that time, people knew only of the terrestrial orchids, which were vastly different from the tropical epiphytes.

The finest varieties of those plants that remained were sold at auction at hugely inflated prices, where competition among the wealthy collectors was fierce. In this way, the first of the prodigious collections of orchids were created; their equal has never been seen since. The lust for tropical orchids spread beyond Europe to the East Coast of the United States, and by the turn of the 20th century orchids were being grown on both sides of the Atlantic.

The word orchid is, in fact, derived from the Greek “orchis”, meaning testes, which refers to the tubers found in pairs ill some species.

By the 19th century, the Exeter nursery of James Veitch and Sons in Devon employed the greatest number of collectors to search for new trees, shrubs and other garden plants, as well as orchids. The firm of Sander’s and Sons from St Albans came later, but rose to rival the most influential commercial establishments.

Twenty years after Columbus landed on the mainland of South America in 1498, Hernando Cones arrived in Mexico to overthrow the Aztec Empire and to claim Mexico for Spain. He found a species of Vanilla being cultivated for its perfume and, more importantly, for its culinary use.

A few orchid nurseries that had beginnings in the 19th century are still flourishing today. These include Beans Orchids of Cooksbridge, Sussex, which was started in 1879 by a Scotsman, Alexander McBean. Mansell and Hatcher’s nursery in Leeds, Yorkshire, commenced in the 1890s, and in France, Vacherot and Lecoufle have been in existence since 1886, making theirs the oldest family-run nursery in the world.

This was a condition insisted upon by the natives, who were persuaded to relinquish parts of their valued ancestors only after mirrors, beads and a roll of brass wire had been exchanged. The plants, still attached to the skulls, and the idols were sold as one lot and purchased by the Hon. Walter Rothschild, in whose collection they remained for many years. D. schroderianum was named after Baron Schroeder, who was a patron of Frederick Sander.

At the end of the 18th century, merchant ships returned from the New World laden with newly discovered animals and plants, including orchids. The comet orchid (Angraecum sesquipedale) from Madagascar has an incredibly long spur at the back of the flower. This enables it to be pollinated by the night flying hawk moth, which has a tongue of exactly the same length.