Orchidaceae -- comments
Notable Genera: Many ornamentals such as Cattleya, Dendrobium,and Epidendrum; including temperate species such as Cypripedium and Paphiopedilum (lady-slipper orchids). Vanilla is extracted from fermented capules of Vanilla planifolia.
Comments: The androecium and parts of the gynoecium in this family have been highly modified in such a way that many, many, many, many pollen grains are delivered as a single package to the stigmatic surface; usually by a pollinator. This means that if a flower is pollinated, then all the teeny, tiny ovules that have formed in the ovary will be fertilized. You can think of this as an all-or-nothing pollination strategy.
The aerial roots in many epiphytic orchids have a special layer on the outside called velamen. This non-living layer, which is a multiple epidermis, seals in moisture and acts as protective layer for the roots.