Simplification of 蘭（兰） I've always been curious about the process of simplifying 蘭 to 兰. I'm not really familiar with the simplification process, but this one is shocking to me. From what I've seen (I've studied only simplified characters), it's usually easy for me to recognize the similarities between traditional and simplified characters. But here, there appears to be no common basis at all.
Like a few other simplifications, 兰 is derived from the grass script for the traditional form. The first three strokes are derived from the 草字头 (the grass radical).

Various character forms can be seen on this site.