Improve your knowledge about orchids

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HABITATS

Orchids grow in various ecosystems. They can be found in forests, open grassy meadows, sand dunes, mangrove swamps, tundras and even at the margins of deserts.
They are erroneously called parasites. In fact, those living on the bark of the trunks, on the thick and thin branches of trees are epiphytes (from the greek epi - over and phyton - plant), a term used to denote plants that grow on other plants, without causing any harm to the host one. An epiphytic orchid uses the branch of a tree only as a support, absorbing nutrients that are washed by the rain water.
A significant amount of species lives in an environment entirely different from tree branches. Many grow over or between rocks (rupicolous and saxicolous), usually in open sun. Others are terrestrial, and live on the ground in forests, meadows, and even in the pure sands of dunes and restingas. There are even rare cases of subterranean orchids (saprophytes), non-chlorophytic plants that feed on decaying organic material.