Orchids and Lilies and Bromeliads, oh my!

Today The Man and I went into DC to check out Capital Hill (more on that later). Afterward, we decided to walk down by the mall, when I remembered that the United States Botanic Garden is just on the other side of the Crapital (no, that is not a typo).

Needless to say, The Man was not particularily enthused, but I used my considerable charm to convince him that I needed to see some of the 200+ orchids that are on display. Ones like these:




I am just amazed by the diversity of orchids and their special adaptations, my favorite being that they need fungi for seed germination and plant survival... this is known as a mycorrhizal relationship.



The center of the indoor gardens boasts a large jungle full of all sorts of delightful tropical plants:
There is even a catwalk so one can get a bird's eye view of it all!

In the jungle area, there are many bromeliads, a special family of plants that grow in tropical areas. This family is very diverse, and many of us have eaten a bromeliad- the pineapple. A great many bromeliads have leaves that grow in a central rosette that collect water and leaf litter for nutrition- and a lot of them are epiphytic, meaning that their root systems are not in soil and absorb nutrients from the air. Here are some of my favorites:





Wow... that's all I can say. The forms and colors present in Nature are awe-inspiring.




Even more awe-inspiring is that I got The Man to pose in front of a flower of sorts. Doesn't he look thrilled?


Can't wait to get back there when I can spend like 10 hours to geek out on the plants! I'll just leave The Man at the International Spy Museum or something...