There have been no less than three different stories about orchids in the news during the past week.
This hammer orchid, which was discovered in southwestern Australia only recently, evolved to resemble a female wasp, thus seducing males of the species into pollinating it.
These extremely rare ghost orchids were spotted growing high up in an old cyprus tree in Florida.
And finally, the Yosemite bog-orchid, which has just been rediscovered and reclassified as a species in its own right, emits an odour of sweaty feet to attract insects.
Isn't nature wonderful?
Comments
Ahhh, the ghost orchid. I just watched the movie Adaptation for the second time about a week ago.
Posted by: Sean T. | July 17, 2007 7:55 PM
A fantastic film. I've seen it twice too.
Posted by: Mo | July 17, 2007 9:25 PM
I love the hammer orchid. It's the sort of thing you would end up with if Chuck Jones went into botany instead of Looney Tunes.
Posted by: Alex, FCD | July 20, 2007 4:56 PM