Picks & Pics

[CastorTroy]

the Bucket Orchid...some of who and what i am...

Many plants have fascinated scientists and gardeners alike, as to the way they grow, flower and reproduce. Surely one of the most amazing examples of plant reproduction is the Bucket Orchid. This orchid has an intricate mechanism by which bees are attracted, trapped and then released. The orchid, which is partly shaped like a bucket, produces a rich sugary food - a nectar which is very attractive to bees. When a bee arrives to obtain some of this food, it lands on the surface of the orchid near to the lip of the 'bucket'. The surface of the orchid is slimy. This makes the bee slip and fall into the bucket that contains a pool of liquid produced by a gland in the plant. The only way the bee can escape is through a tunnel, and there is a convenient step leading from the pool of liquid to the tunnel entrance. As the bee is about to escape from the tunnel, the walls of the plant contract, gripping the bee. The plant's mechanism then glues two pollen sacs to the bee's back, and after allowing time for the glue to dry, releases it. If the bee then flies to another bucket orchid, the same process will take place, except that this time, when the bee attempts to leave the tunnel, a hook in the roof of the tunnel removes the pollen sacs, and the fertilization process is completed!