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SV EXT Man looking at orchid or exhibition in Caracas
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CU White orchid with red centre (2 shots)
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SV Women looking at display
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SV Policeman looking at large white orchids with red centres (2 shots)
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SV PAN FROM People walking in the grounds to orchids growing in centre of swimming pool (3 shots)
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SV Tall stemmed orchids with red and yellow flowers which grow wild (2 shots)
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SV & CU Magnifying glass showing miniature orchid (2 shots)
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SV Orchids used in bridal head-dress (2 shots)
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Initials BB/1855 NPJ/AW/BB/1905



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: The orchid is Venezuela's national flower, and hundreds of people visited a special exhibition which included numerous varieties of the flower, on the day it opened in Caracas on Monday (5 April). The exhibition not only displayed the vast range of varieties the flower can assume, but also the decorative ways it can be used in wedding ornaments, garden landscaping, sculptures and other artistic creations.

Twelve orchid societies from all over Venezuela sent a total of two thousand different varieties to be exhibited. Venezuela is particularly rich in orchid species -- though not the richest. About 770 varieties are known to grow naturally within its borders, whereas in Peru 1,200 different species have been found.

It has been calculated that the flora of Colombia comprises 50,000 species of higher plants, of which at least 2,000 are orchids. The tropics provide the greatest concentration of orchid varieties, and another South American country with high specie ratio is Costa Rica with 950. In the Caribbean, the islands of Trinidad and Tobago have 180 species in 62 genera.

The poverty of the orchid species in the northern areas is shown by the fact that there are only 175 species of orchids in North America, north of Mexico, and only 125 species in Europe, including about 50 native in Britain.

Thought the orchid was not much appreciated in Venezuela at the beginning of the century, the great founder of the South American states, Simon Bolivar, is known to have admired the beauty of the flowers, and during a visit to Europe, took some orchids with him.

SYNOPSIS: A special exhibition of orchids opened in the capital of Venezuela, Caracas, this week, and hundreds of people visited the show on the opening day. The orchid is Venezuela's national flower, and the country has about seven hundred and seventy different species growing naturally within its borders.

Twelve orchid growing societies from all over Venezuela sent a total of 2,000 different varieties to be exhibited. The exhibition not only showed the vast range of species the flower can assume, but also the decorative ways it can be used in wedding ornaments, garden landscaping, sculptures and other artistic creations.

The tropics provide the greatest concentration of orchid varieties, whereas in the northern hemisphere there are far fewer. It is estimated that the flora of Columbia comprises 50,000 species of higher plants, of which 2,000 are orchids. The orchid was not appreciated in Venezuela at the beginning of the century, but S??? on Bolivar, founder of the South American states, admired their beauty.