Dear mods, if this post is too risqué for our forum, please remove it! Deepest apologies if it is. I mean this only for a laugh and out of my curiosity!
Long ago when orchids were being named, they were named for their twin tubers which resembled - yep - they resembled testicles to the people who decided to name them! In Latin, "
orchis" or in Greek, "
orkhis" both mean "testicle" (
source). Knowing this, one might wonder if perhaps Jack White's song lyric, "You took a white orchid and turned it blue," is not actually complaining about companies who dye orchids blue and sell them at a premium price, but rather something that hits a little closer to home... (
NSFW source)
This is particularly obvious in the scientific illustrations of
Orchis mascula:
and
Orchis ustulatus:
So the family name of our beloved plants is already amusingly chosen. The Orchidaceae family is named due to a somewhat hilarious association, and it just gets weirder from there.
Take, for instance,
Orchis italica, or the "man orchid."
These little orchids look like an army of streakers prancing about in the buff, down to the last detail it seems.
Let's not forget the O'Keefeian association of flowers with female genitalia. Some feminists claim the orchid as a symbol of femininity in the most literal way. Images of cattleyas and phalaenopsis orchids may tend to come to mind with this association. In fact, a google image search along these lines will yield some pretty creative (and definitely NSFW) art pieces and jewelry.
Or what about how funny some paphiopedilums look as they are wilting? The wrinkly lip sure begins to look like an
orchis if I ever saw one!!
Other living beings find certain similarities between orchids and the things they know. Some orchids have evolved to appear as potential mates for certain bees and wasps, taking things a step beyond mimicking pheromones. The lip of the orchid looks like a pretty, pretty bee lady and the male bee tries to carry out his biological reproductive functions. He receives no benefit, yet the orchid is pollinated. (
source)
Ophrys apifera
So, everyone, are there other orchids which have taken on amusing or uncanny likenesses?
Are there some orchids that you look at and simply cannot help but giggle? If you have some photos or mentions, please share! Also, please keep this lighthearted and SFW (safe for work).
Further reading (which is far less jokey and substantially more NSFW for a few pages, while remaining academic in nature): The Seductive Orchid: A Look Into the Justifications and Motivations behind the Illicit Flora Economy by Ardea Smith. This also discusses the lengths people go to when trying to obtain new orchid species in the wild, and the consequences of such behavior.
Again, I don't mean this post to be crude, overtly vulgar, or offensive, but rather in a comical and informative manner! I truly do not wish to offend anyone!