Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-02
MOST INTELLIGENT FLOWER.
Orchids, Which Trap and Consume In,
sects-How Catch IL Made.

..
sects-How Catch IL Made.
Maurice Maeterlinck, in Harpers,
The typical flower of our orchids repre.
sents closely the fantastic and yawnins
mouth OF Chinese dragon. The lower lin.
wnich Is very long and which hangs In the
form OF q jasgard or dentate apron, serves
as ianding-place for the insect. The
upper lip rounds into Q sort of hood, which
snelters the essential organs: while, at the
oack OF the flower, beside the peduncle.
.here rails kind OF spur or long. pointed
horn' which contains the nectar. In most
MOWERS the stigma, or female organ. In a
more or less viscid little tuft which, at the
end OF frail stalk. patiently awaits the
coming OF the pollen. In the orchid this
traditional installation has become irreoop
nizable. At the back of the mouth. in the
place occupied In the throat by the uvula,
are two closely weldon stigmas. above
which rises third stigma modified into an
extraordinary organ. At its top II car
ries sort Of little pouch, or, more cor
rectly. sort of stoup which 10 called the
rostellum. This stoup is full of viscid
MUD MUD IN which soak two tiny balls. whence
Issue two short stalks laden at their upper
extremity with a packet Of grains of pollen
carefully tied I'D.
Let us now see what happens when an
insect enters the flower. She lands on the
lower lip, outspread to receive her, and,
attracted by the scent of the nectar seeks
to reach the horn that contains It, right at
the back. But the passage is purpOsedly
very narrow; and the insects head as she
advances, necessarily strikes the stoup.
The latter, mindful of the least shock. is at
once ruptured along convenient line and
lays bare the two little balls STEPPED in
the viscid fluid. These coming into mme-
date contact with the visitors skull, fasten
to 1t and become firmly stuck to 1t, so that
when the insect leaves the flower she car
rles them away and, with them the two
stalks which rise from them and which
end In the packets of tied-up pollen. We
therefore have the insect capped with two
straight, bottle-shaped horns. The uncon-
scious artisan Of difficult work now visits
a neighbOring flower. If her horns remain
ed stif they would simply strike with their
pollen masses the other pollen masses soak
Ing In the vigilant stoup and no event
would spring from the pollen mingling with
pollen. But here the genius the experience
and the foresight of the orchid become ap-
parent. The orchid has infinitely calcu-
lated the time needed for the insect to suck
the nectar and repair to the next flower
and has ascertained that this requires On
an average, thirty seconds. We have seen
that the packets of pollen are carried on
two short stalks inserted into the viscid
balls. Now at the point of insertion there
Is under either stalk, a small membI ANGUS
disk. whose only function is, at tho end
Of thirty seconds, to contract and throw
forward the stalks, so that they b6sd and
describe an arch Of ninety degrees. This is
the result of new calculation, not of time
on this occasion. but of space. The two
horns of pollen that cap the nuptial mes
front of her head, SO that, when she en-
tiers the next flower they will Just strike
the two welded stigmas over which hangs
the stoup