Orchid Balls???

[Marty]

Something interesting I came across, not sure how true it is, but it's entertaining so I'll post it here


ORCHID

What It Means Now: A type of flower.

The Dirty History:

At some point in history a botanist was looking at what is widely considered to be the most beautiful flower in existence when he noticed that the roots sort of looked like balls.



It's unknown if he held the flower next to his crotch, pointed and laughed, but the observation stuck, and the plant was named for a ball-joke.

The term orchid comes from the Greek, orkhis, which means testicle. This etymology of orchid makes the White Stripes lyrics, "You took a white orchid and turned it blue" make much, more sense.

[cb977]

Where do you find this stuff?

[bonsai1504]

marty, YOU said that this is a family friendly forum...

[isurus79]

[Sharlie]

I've gotta know if it is true or not...lmao

[Marty]

That's partially why I posted it, I wanted to know myself... I'm sure Dorothy will tell us

[lepanthes89]

Yes of course its true.
Orchids are named (in the west),after the Greek name for testicles (orchis),because of the resemblance to the tubers of European orchids.
The first mention of them that we have is in Theophrastus' "Enquiry into plants".
He lived ca.371-287 BC.
Until the middle ages (and later),orchid tubers were considered aphrodisiacs.
Its a long and complex story,look it up if you have the time.

[cb977]

Originally Posted by Marty

That's partially why I posted it, I wanted to know myself... I'm sure Dorothy will tell us

You might get yourself banned!

[Paul]

Never heard that particular version (named as a "joke"). I did know about the testicle connection. From what I understand, because of the similarity in appearance, it was believed that this plant would have an affect on male virility. As Lepanthes mentioned, this resulted in it being used as an aphordisiac (and still is in parts of Europe).

Pretty common philosophy back then -- that if a plant had parts that bore a resemblance to parts of the body, that plant could be used to treat certain ills. Mandrake root is another example -- since the root resembles (supposedly) a man, it could be used to treat various ills

[gmdiaz]

I just want to say for the record, I could pass on the photos. . .should anyone feel that they must make an anatomical or otherwise "scientific" comparison.

I beg you. . .do not dig up your orchid's ur. . bulbs on my account.

(Covering my ears and closing my eyes)
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