Paris, France — This is a wild world, a world of orchids, ferns and the enigmatic vegetal beings, plants that seem to grow out of nowhere lining the canopy, the floor and the walls of the tropical forests. This is a world showcased in the Great Greenhouses of the Botanical Gardens of France’s Natural History Museum in Paris on the edge of the Seine. It is a journey into a temporary exhibition in the lush and luxuriant Great Greenhouses of the museum, built in the 1930s. Dubbed A Thousand and One Orchids (Mille & Une Orchidées), the show focuses in on one of the more ephemeral shores of nature, orchids, these plants that seemingly grow out of the ambient humidity and so they do.

It is an exhibition that takes the visitor on a journey into the fascinating, diverse world of orchids, a world of over 25,000 known species, spread out all over the planet, even in non-tropical zones. The museum is holding this highly popular and instructive exhibition for the 11^thtime and the museum’s gardeners and botanists are all on hand offering explanations and intriguing anecdotes. Orchid growers are also on the agenda along with orchid collectors, all enjoying animated discussions with visitors. The show is a spectacular parade of colors, shapes and for some of the orchids beautiful perfumes for not all orchids are fragrant. The City of Paris and its greenhouses are contributing specimens to the show as they have done since the inception of the event while five orchid producers have staged spectacular orchid shows within. 

Conferences, educational displays, workshops and an ephemeral boutique devoted to orchids are all on the agenda. The orchid exhibition runs from February 8^th until March 4^th, daily 10am until 5pm, until 6pm starting on February 28^th, closed Tuesdays.

But the greenhouses in and of themselves are worth a visit. 

©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette
https://www.mnhn.fr/en
57 rue Cuvier
75005 Paris, France