Orchidaceae

Orchidaceae is a diverse and widespread family of flowering plants, with blooms that are often colourful and often fragrant, commonly known as the orchid family. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering plants. Orchidaceae has about 27,800 currently accepted species, distributed in about 880 genera. The determination of which family is larger is still under debate, because verified data on the members of such enormous families are continually in flux. Regardless, the number of orchid species nearly equals the number of bony fishes and is more than twice the number of bird species, and about four times the number of mammal species. The family also encompasses about 6–11% of all seed plants. The largest genera are Bulbophyllum (2,000 species), Epidendrum (1,500 species), Dendrobium (1,400 species) and Pleurothallis (1,000 species).

The family also includes Vanilla (the genus of the vanilla plant), Orchis (type genus), and many commonly cultivated plants such as Phalaenopsis and Cattleya. Moreover, since the introduction of tropical species into cultivation in the 19th century, horticulturists have produced more than 100,000 hybrids and cultivars.

Orchid (screamo band)

Orchid was an American screamo band from Amherst, Massachusetts. Considered by many to be one of the pioneers of the "screamo" sound, Orchid combined this with a post-modern aesthetic, releasing several extended play and splits as well as three LPs. The band consisted of Jayson Green as lead vocalist, drummer Jeffrey Salane, guitarist Will Killingsworth and bassist Geoff Garlock.

In 1999 Orchid released their first record Chaos Is Me and a year after in 2000 released Dance Tonight! Revolution Tomorrow! In July 2002 they released their third studio album Gatefold and later in the year, in September, Orchid released a compilation of both their first and second albums onto CD containing all 21 tracks from both. After the release of both they split up. Posthumously, in 2005 Orchid released Totality, a compilation album comprised all of 24 tracks from out of press and hard to find B-side and split EP material previously only available on vinyl.

History

The band was formed while Jayson Green, Will Killingsworth, and Brad Wallace were studying at Hampshire College, and Jeff Salane was attending UMass in Amherst, Massachusetts in early 1998. The majority of their discography was released on vinyl records which they often shared with other bands. There were three full-length (by their standards) records released: Chaos Is Me, Dance Tonight! Revolution Tomorrow! and the final Self-Titled release (often called "Gatefold" after its packaging), all on Ebullition Records.

Black Orchid (Killer Instinct)

Black Orchid (written as "B. Orchid" or just "Orchid" in the games) is a player character in the Killer Instinct fighting game series created by Rare. Introduced as the only female character in the original Killer Instinct in 1994, Orchid has appeared in every entry in the series to date. A mysterious spy and fighter, she is the female protagonist of the series, along with her younger brother Jago, and is arguably the most famous and best received Killer Instinct character.

Appearances

In Killer Instinct (1994), Black Orchid is a 23-year-old enigmatic and lethal secret agent for a vigilante-oriented international spy organization and apparently the heroine of the series (along with her brother Jago). Posing as a secretary, she infiltrates Ultratech, the company which organizes the Killer Instinct tournament, to uncover the truth behind the mysterious disappearances related to it. In her ending, she successfully gathers enough information to defeat Ultratech.

In the sequel, Killer Instinct 2 (1996), it is revealed that the now 24-year-old Black Orchid has destroyed Eyedol (the first game's boss), which sent the Ultratech building two millennia into the past. Now she seeks to destroy Gargos, and find a way home to start a new life. In her endings, the warrior Jago is revealed as her younger brother.