Aphrodite's Orchid

Aphrodite's phalaenopsis

My husband gave me a stunning Aphrodite Orchid plant before he left for South America.  Such a gift is totally out of character for my Jeremiah Johnson husband, but I'll gratefully take such a loving gift.  And although it doesn't go at all with my more natural, green and brown, woodsy decor, it is a beauty standing two and a 1/2 feet tall and heavy with 8 deep blue blossoms.  It's right in my living room so I look at it all the time and think of him.  Sometimes I feel like it's looking at me.  Apparently, there's a praying mantis who mimics the orchids otherworldly-looking center which twists and turns. Laying in wait, it snatches insects who come to taste the orchid's nectar.  What a tale to tell.  Native to Indonesia, the first orchids appeared on Earth 120 million years ago.  But this guy's story is even more fun.  The word "orchid" comes from the Greek word for "testicle" because the shape of some orchid root tubers look like human testes.  Who knew?  This led to Greek philosophers believing the orchid held aphrodisiac properties.  Now I see why my beloved gave me this plant on the eve of his two-week journey and told me, "This is for you look at and think about me."