THE WILD ORCHID 



a flower, where the numerous stamens of a poppy or 

 an anemone become petals, and so produce the so- 

 called '' double " flower. But why has the orchid 

 disposed of five out of six of its original stamens 

 that produce the valuable fertilising pollen ? Surely 

 a progressive plant such as the spotted orchis 

 cannot afford to dispense with its reproductive 

 parts ! The fact is, the orchis conducts its floral 

 diplomacy with such skilful adjustment that it can 

 do, with its one partially-remaining stamen, as 

 much as, or even more than its remote, lily-type 

 ancestors were able to do with their six. 



The spotted orchis caters more particularly for 

 the visits of bees and several species of flies. How 

 perfectly it caters I will now ask the reader to 

 observe. Upon looking closely at Fig. 8i (Plate 

 57) it will be seen that the lower half of the flower 

 is composed of a large petal (which originally was 

 probably a petal and two stamens). This petal is, 

 behind, drawn back so as to form a spurlike 

 nectary and, in a general ^way, the whole is. called 

 the lower lip, or labellum. On the surface of this 

 lip, it will be noticed, appear some deep purple 

 spots all of which converge into the hollow of the 

 nectary. As it stands the lip is a landing-stage for 

 the bee or fly, and to prevent any waste of time or 

 misunderstanding on the part of the visiting insect 

 the purple-coloured spots immediately conduct 

 it to the nectary ; it therefore has no excuse for 

 blundering by searching underneath the flower, or 

 elsewhere. So at once on its arrival it plunges its 

 head and proboscis into the nectary. Once again 



137 



