MORE MARRIAGE CUSTOMS. 117 



to describe it to you intelligibly ; but I will give 

 you such a brief statement of its chief peculiari- 

 ties as will enable you to see how highly it has 

 been specialised in adaptation to insect visits. 



The ovary in orchids is inferior, and curiously 

 twisted. It supports six perianth-pieces, three 

 of which are sepals, often long and very hand- 

 some; while two are petals, often arching like a 

 hood over the centre of the flower. The third 

 petal, called the lip, is quite different in shape 



FIG. 22. Single flower of orchid, with the perianth cut away. The 

 honey is in the spur, n ; the pollen-masses are marked a ; their 

 gummy base is at r ; the stigma at st. 



and appearance from the other two, and usually 

 hangs down in a very conspicuous manner. There 

 are no visible stamens, to be recognised as such ; 

 but the pollen is contained in a pair of tiny bags 

 or sacks, close to the stigma. It is united into 

 two sticky club-shaped lumps, usually called the 

 pollen-masses (Fig. 22). In other words, the or- 



