ORCHID FAMILY 



The Orchids are a group of perennial herbs with 

 corms or bulbs or tuberous rootstock, more or less 

 sheathing leaves, and very irregular flowers. In fact, 

 the Orchid family is the most peculiar in the vegetable 

 world in the structure as well as the shape of its flowers. 

 Of the six floral leaves that every Orchid flower pos- 

 sesses the three outer may be considered sepals, the 

 inner three petals, of which one is always peculiar in 

 shape. This one is considered a petal, though it may 

 be in the form of a pouch or a cornucopia or a fringed 

 banner or a broad platform, but it is always unusual. 

 Technically, it is called the lip of the flower, thus leav- 

 ing but two ordinary petals in the usual descriptions. 

 In the case of all the Lady's-Slippers this lip becomes 

 a pouch. 



The arrangement of parts makes it virtually impos- 

 sible for the flower to be fertilized by its own pollen. 

 The stamens and petals are united into a single organ 

 called the column, which projects forward from the 

 stem into the open space at the top and within the lip. 

 The stamens lie back of the stigma in such a position 

 that the pollen could not, except by help of insects, 

 be transferred from one to the other. 



The large lip is opened with a narrow slit down in 

 front, and the edges of the opening are turned inward. 

 This forms a veritable trap, easy to get into but quite 

 difficult to get out of, at least by the same door. The 

 bee easily enters this open door into the sac. Once 

 in and satisfied with honey she looks for a way out. 

 She finds a way finally, but not the way she came in. 

 At the top of the flower, on either side of the column, 

 she finds a passage into the open air just wide enough 

 to push through. In doing this she brushes against 



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