Fuzzy Toilet Bowl Orchid Revisited

beetleman · Post by **beetleman** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 12:47 pm

Just another shot with more flowers blooming.

Cyclops · Post by **Cyclops** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 1:28 pm

Fuzzy Toilet Bowl Orchid

Now thats a name Ive never heard before!

MacroLuv · Post by **MacroLuv** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 5:56 pm

Woohoo Doug!

I thought it's a single flower but you have a whole branches!

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 6:42 pm

You know this reminds me of some of the things that Charlie finds in water samples, using his microscopes. These are really beautiful Doug and the photograph very well taken, I think.

beetleman · Post by **beetleman** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 4:37 am

Thanks everyone. The first post was the first flower that bloomed.."I just had to take a picture of the first one"

DaveW · Post by **DaveW** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 5:37 am

What pollinates these orchids Doug? The hairs on the flowers remind me of plants like Stapelias which are pollinated by blowflies brecause the smell like and simulate rotting flesh with hairy mould growing on them. But your flowers are yellow, though I suppose they could simulate something rotting that flies normally feed or lay their eggs on?

With Stapelia flowers which fool flies like this to get pollinated, you often get flies laying their eggs on them and maggots crawling over the flowers, soon to die when they do not find the nourishment required to develop.

DaveW

beetleman · Post by **beetleman** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 1:22 pm

Dave, that is a good question..especially with orchids. I have no Idea what pollinates these flowers. I have looked at the picture and wondered what would happen when an Insect alights on it. The lateral sepals look like they are fused into the bowl, The lip looks like the green things hanging down at the back of the bowl and the anther cup and stigma must be up under the fuzzy lid somewere. It looks like the insect would get into the bowl rather easily. but to get out , it would have to climb out the back end along the lip and rub up against the anther & stigma somewere in there. Only guessing.

DaveW · Post by **DaveW** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 2:55 pm

You can see what I mean here Doug in Stapelia hirsuta whose flower is supposed to simulate and smell like rotting flesh with filamentous mould growing on it. The hairs on the petals, best shown on the lower picture, simulating mould are similar to those on your plant, although your flowers are yellow.

http://www.desert-tropicals.com/Plants/ ... rsuta.html

DaveW

beetleman · Post by **beetleman** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 5:29 pm

Yep...I do do not know if this simulates the same thing. Just not sure, do not smell anything

this one does the same thing. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/kids ... lower.html