Where in the World do Orchids Grow?
The answer is almost everywhere in the world. While the majority of orchids are found growing in the
tropical regions of the world, they also grow in the temperate regions, both north and south of the equator,
like the United States, Europe, China, Russia and Australia. Orchids are also found in rather cold areas,
including within the Arctic Circle, like in the state of Alaska, northern Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Sweden,
Norway, Finland and northern Russia. There are only a small number of countries that do not have any
indigenous orchids.
Visualize Their Distribution
To help you visualize where orchids can be found a webmap titled: Orchids of the World was developed. On
the map you can click on a marker that will list the number of wild orchid species that can be found in that country,
region, state or island. When available it will also include the number of endemic orchid species found there.
In some of the larger countries, such as Canada, United States, Mexico, India, China, Russia and Australia there are
green markers for the whole country and blue markers for states or regional areas within those countries.
2024 Update
In the early part of 2024 Dr. Michael Hassler updated the List of Taxa in The Illustrated World
Compendium of Orchids. The total number of accepted species in the database was 30,440. That update prompted
an update to the Orchids of the World Web map.
Data Sources
The data used came from three sources. 1. For the United States and Canada - The United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA) Plants Database, accessed in December 2018. 2. For the Country of India - The article "Status
of Orchid Conservation in India, Part 1" by Dr Sadananda Hegde published in the December 2016 issue of The Orchid Society
of Karnataka (TOSKAR) Newsletter. 3. 3. For all other Countries and Islands - The Illustrated World Compendium of
Orchids Checklist version 18.4 compiled by Dr. Michael Hassler.
It should be noted that the species counts are only the "best estimates" because new species are being discovered each year and orchid habitat is constantly being threatened by human activity and changes in weather patterns.
Viewing the Map
To view the Orchids of the World webmap you will be taken to the ESRI ArcGIS online website. I believe that
you will find this online webmap to be very informative and no doubt surprising as you find out -- Where in the world
do orchids grow? (M.H., February 2024)