Visiting an Orchid Market in Lima

Thousands of spectacular flowers

Lima’s most touristic district is Miraflores. The name, which originated in the 16th century when Lima was an Inca village, means “look at the flowers.” This weekend provided an excellent opportunity to do just that.

At Parque Kennedy (named after John F. Kennedy) in Miraflores, there’s a different temporary market or fair on many weekends. I previously wrote about a fascinating honey market there that featured all sorts of colorful kinds of honey from around the country (link below article). This weekend, the park hosted an “International Flower Fair.”

Normally, the markets take up only a small section of the park. This one was much bigger and more elaborate. It was also the most crowded that I’ve ever seen the park.

There were thousands of visitors and many dozens of flower booths.

While other types of plants were present, along with some crafts and educational displays, most of the vendors were selling orchids.

Orchids are considered among the world’s most evolved, exotic, and treasured flowers. There are over 25,000 species and they grow all over the world, but they’re most abundant in the tropics (near the equator). Peru is one of the nations with the most variety — an estimated 2,500 species, many of which have not yet been identified.

Bilateral symmetry is part of what makes orchids so beautiful. Most common flowers exhibit radial symmetry, with petals distributed evenly around a central axis (like a starfish). Bilateral symmetry indicates a single line of symmetry — you can only create two equal sides. Visually, it’s a more complex configuration.

If you had to guess which human body part orchids are named for, what would you say? Ponder the question while you enjoy these beautiful flowers from the market.

If you didn’t already know the answer, then you probably guessed incorrectly.

The word orchid comes from the Greek word orchis, which means testicle. The name refers to the underground rounded tuber pairs that some orchids grow for nutrient storage.

Aren’t humans funny? Perhaps a teenage boy was involved in choosing that name.

Because the fair was so crowded, I didn’t get the chance to chat with many of the vendors or to learn about the specific orchid varieties. However, it was amazing to see so many of the world’s most beautiful flowers in one place.

From a previous market visit at the same park: