Orchids

The orchid family includes over 30,000 recorded species and many additional thousands of hybrids. They occur on every continent except Antarctica with the heaviest concentration being in the tropics.

Philippino Ground Orchid

The diversity within this group is staggering. Orchids come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, and in almost every color of the rainbow.

The St. George orchid collection includes 60 species and hundreds of hybrid orchids. Visitors can enjoy a year round display of blooming specimens in the Marmaduke Orchid House, which was a post-Emancipation workers’ cottage.

Blooming orchids on display in the Marmaduke Orchid House.
The Bull Horn Orchid (Myrmecophila grandiflora) thrives
in the branches of trees throughout the Garden
The bright colors of Mokara Golden Tommy greet visitors in the courtyard
of the Visitors’ Center

Alert visitors can find many specimens thriving in the trees throughout the Gardens including examples of species native to St. Croix.