Rare orchids with buds smaller than a fingernail are among the plants which have travelled from Glasgow to London for a prestigious flower show. 

Plants from the Scottish city's Botanic Gardens have been given the spotlight at the Chelsea Flower Show. 

The annual London garden show opened on Monday, with Glasgow City Council's orchids, ferns and begonias forming part of an exhibition stand. 

Tiny rare West African orchids, Angraecum podochiloides, grown in Glasgow are among the plants displayed on a stand by J.P Wright & Company of Florida and Grow Tropicals.

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The Herald:

The stand hopes to highlight the vital role orchids play as indicators of the health of wider ecosystems.

All orchids rely on both fungi and pollinators such as to complete their life cycles and their very presence depends on a delicate balance within their habitat. 

One of the rare species to be spotlighted at the stand includes the Florida Ghost Orchid.

Visitors will be able to witness efforts to find and protect the delicate plant by a renowned global conservation team.

Plants loaned from Glasgow for the exhibit also include a Resurrection Fern which grows in swamps alongside the Florida Ghost Orchid.

The Herald: Resurrection Fern from Glasgow's Botanic Gardens Resurrection Fern from Glasgow's Botanic Gardens (Image: Glasgow City Council)

Christine Nicholson, orchid propagator at Glasgow's Botanic Gardens said: "It was great to be asked to supply plants for Chelsea which is world-renowned and features the best growers and designers from around the globe.

"It is very exciting and I can't wait to see photos of the completed exhibition stand.

"We were asked to help when some plants for the display got delayed at customs and we were delighted to be able to assist. The plants will be returned to Glasgow when the Chelsea Flower Show closes."

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The Botanic Gardens in the West End of Glasgow are known for annual glorious displays of orchids and is home to a huge collection of the plant gifted by Isobyl La Croix of the Royal Orchid Society in 2008.

Each year it hosts the Weekend Orchid Fair and brings in displays and trade stands from across Scotland.

Other endangered versions of the flowers have also been brought to the Chelsea Flower Show from The Republic of Cameroon. 

Numbers of the Angraecum podochiloides are declining in the wild and it is rarely cultivated in the UK.

The stand with the Glasgow plants will also feature some of the 52 orchid varieties native to Britain.