You hear the word orchid, what comes to mind? Beautiful flowersfrom warm, tropical islands? A plant grown in a hothouse, to be used as a corsage? Springtime in Missouri? Yes, Missouri. All three of those thoughts are correct, but let’s not stop there. How about vanilla ice cream? The vanilla bean, used as a flavoring in many of your favorite foods, is the fruit from an orchid plant; rum is often flavored by the pods of another orchid species; and the tuberous roots of many orchids are edible (they taste like potatoes).