ianhunt ,
@ianhunt@mastodon.green avatar

@ancientsounds Interested in what you say about the pollinia of orchids. I only saw my first Bee Orchid this week and have now examined the photo closely, having looked up the anatomy of the flower -- I think the pollinium just visible is intact in this one also. Coney Banks, Chatham, Kent

Bee orchid flower. Wikipedia: 'Three large, purple sepals surround the base of the flower, which can easily be mistaken for petals. The true petals lie just above the sepals as two short, pubescent green structures protruding laterally from a central column. A third, modified petal, the labellum, sits at the bottom of the column as a landing pad for pollinators. The labellum is trilobed, with two pronounced humps on the hairy lateral lobes and a hairy median lobe having a pattern that mimics the abdomen of a bee.[3] The pattern of labellum colouration is quite variable. The central column is an adaptation unique to orchids, in which the stamens and pistil fused together to form one central rib.[3] The anther cap can be found at the top, dorsal side of the column, while the stigma is hidden below on the ventral side. Two pollinia hang from the column over the labellum.' I can just see one of these to the left of the central green petal -- if that's what it is!
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