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ECONOMICAL IMPORTANCE OF ORCHIDS

Orchids are usually grown for the beauty, exoticism and fragrance of their flowers. Although cultivated since the times of Confucius (ca. 551 - 479 BC), their commercialization in Europe started at the end of the 18th century. Nowadays, a modern profitable trade involves hundreds of thousands of dollars every year around the world, mostly in Asia, Europe and the USA.
Some orchids are commercialized not for their beauty, but because of their use in human food industry. The most important are some species of the Vanilla genus, largely used for flavoring cakes, ice cream, candy and sweets.
Another example is Salep, a cloudy fluid, rich in starch and sweet tasting, extracted from the tuberous roots of some species. It has been used for centuries in Persia and Turkey to prepare a tasty hot drink, and also to thiken ice cream. Medicinal properties have been attributed to Salep, used as a treatment for diarrhea and as an aphrodisiac.