Orchidaceae tubers after detecting the plants underground by scent. Orchids have been used in traditional medicine in an effort to treat many diseases and ailments. They have been used as a source of herbal remedies in China since 2800 BC. "Gastrodia elata" is one of the three orchids listed in the earliest known Chinese Materia Medica ("Shennon bencaojing") (c. 100 AD). Theophrastus mentions orchids in his "Enquiry into Plants" (372–286 BC). Orchids have many associations with symbolic values. For example, the orchid is the City Flower of Shaoxing, China. "Cattleya mossiae" is the national Venezuelan flower, while "Cattleya trianae" is the
Spanish flower Spanish flower The Spanish flower is a type of coin flan shape. It consists of a smooth edge separated into equal sections by seven indents. At least two coin issuers, the European Union and Fiji, have mentioned explicitly that the Spanish flower shape was chosen to help the visually-impaired. However, the Polish commemorative coin has different technical specifications than the circulation issue, which makes it impractical in daily use. Therefore, the Spanish flower shape has novelty value only on this coin. The Spanish 50 peseta coins issued between 1990 and 2000 were the first to feature the Spanish flower shape.