Orchid mycorrhiza allowed for the identification of specific taxa forming symbiotic relationships which are of interest in the study, cultivation, and conservation of orchids. This is especially important in the trade and preservation endangered species or orchids of commercial value like the vanilla bean. There have been seen trends in the type of symbioses found in orchids, depending primarily on the life-style of the orchid, as the symbiosis is primarily of benefit to the plant. Terrestrial orchids have been found to commonly associate with Tulasnellaceae, however some autotrophic and non-autotrophic orchids do associate with several ectomycorrhizal fungi. Epiphytic fungi, however, may associate
Orchid hunting Orchid hunting Orchid hunting is the search for orchid plants in the wild. The orchid plants are usually being acquired for the commercial market, where there was, and still is, significant demand for these unusual flowering plants. In 1818, William John Swainson was collecting plants in Rio de Janeiro. He sent a box of tropical plants he had acquired to London. As a packing material he used orchids, which he believed were parasitic plants. Surprisingly, one of the orchids bloomed on arrival, and Londoners were astonished by the unusual shape and colors of the flower. That single flower triggered "orchid