Would you pay $100,000 for an

When orchidomania swept Europe in the 19th century, people forked out for flowers

你愿意花10万美元买一株兰花吗?

19世纪兰花热席卷欧洲时,人们为花卉一掷千金

Jun 3rd 2025

2025年6月3日

The Lost Orchid. By Sarah Bilston.

《失落的兰花》。作者:莎拉·比尔斯顿。

In 1818 an orchid was sent from Brazil to Britain. The specimen, later christened Cattleya labiata, had been collected by William Swainson, an English naturalist keen to make a name for himself in an age when natural history was newly fashionable. When eventually induced to bloom, revealing crimson, club-shaped petals, Cattleya labiata was agreed to be among the most splendid of its kind. It "must strike with admiration every beholder who is not actually insensible of the charms of nature," one keen fan wrote.

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