====== Orchid dormancy ======

Orchids often enter periods of dormancy - when the plant goes into what some call a 'rest' period, and shows no signs of growth (either above or below ground). The triggers which cause the plants to enter and emerge from the dormant state are as yet unknown - though it's believed that symbiotic fungi may play a part. Further, the evolutionary pressures which have presumably enabled this strategy are unclear.

> [...] vegetative  dormancy  is  often  associated  with  plant stress and may be important for survival   However,  for  vegetative  dormancy  to  be  a  successful  strategy,  plants  must  have  higher  survival  or,  at  least  not  substantially less growth, than they would have not entering dormancy. __What triggers orchids to enter or emerge from  dormancy  is  unknown,__  but  it  may  be  related  to  plant  nutritional status  which,  in  turn,  may  be  related  to  environmental  stress." 
>\\ Source :[[https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3732/ajb.1600334|Symbiont abundance can affect host plant population dynamics ]]//American Journal of Botany//, Jan 2017.