There was no biotechnology and genetic research on orchid cultivation in ancient China. Only on the basis of previous experience, we continue to explore and accumulate, carefully cultivate and care, and then most of them propagate in the form of ramets and pass on slowly. Therefore, it is difficult for famous orchids to meet the needs of many orchid friends, and one of their characteristics is orderly inheritance. Basically, where each potted orchid was introduced and who planted it, the geometry of seedling development can be traced back to the source.
However, due to the war and some man-made disasters, coupled with the relatively backward cultivation techniques of the ancients, many excellent orchids have become extinct in the process of inheritance. The author browsed Zhang Jin's Orchid Garden in the Song Dynasty, Fang Qun's Garden in the Ming Dynasty and Zuo Bian of the History of Flowers, and found that nearly 100 excellent orchids have been extinct, and only a few have been preserved. Only the famous species found in the Qing Dynasty still exist, such as the famous "Four Heavenly Kings of Chunlan", which is also the result of painstaking efforts by the ancients and unremitting efforts of today, and can be said to be precious.
In view of these genetic and orderly orchid varieties, they are generally called "old species" and "original species" in the orchid world. As the name implies, "native species" is a natural reproduction without artificial means, and an excellent variety suitable for viewing is selected through artificial selection. The "old species" are propagated by the "original species", rarely by sexual reproduction through asexual reproduction, and most of them are inherited in an orderly way, which can be traced back to the past, so people call them "old species". With the improvement of horticultural technology and the rapid development of biotechnology and genetic engineering, some plants can reproduce by using organisms or their components (organs, cells, organelles, enzymes, etc.). ), so a new orchid breeding technology-tissue culture appeared.
Initially, tissue culture was used for scientific research. For the purpose of protection and research and development, some research institutions later saw the great potential of the orchid market, so they applied tissue culture to commerce, and a new orchid variety-tissue culture seedlings (also called tissue culture grass) came into being.
Tissue culture seedlings can be cultivated on a large scale and planted in batches, which speeds up the propagation of orchids, actually reduces the price of orchids and satisfies the hobbies of many orchid friends who like famous orchids. In this respect, tissue culture seedlings are still very helpful to the market.