|
|
FLOWER
(Cypripedium hirsutum; C. pubescens of Gray) Orchid family
Flower - Solitary, large, showy, borne at the top of a leafy stem
to 2 ft. high. Sepals 3, 2 of them united, greenish or yellowish,
striped with purple or dull red, very long, narrow; 2 petals,
brown, narrower, twisting; the third an inflated sac, open at the
top, 1 to 2 in. long, pale yellow, purple lined white hairs
within; sterile stamen triangular; stigma thick. Leaves: Oval or
elliptic, pointed, 3 to 5 in, long, parallel-nerved, sheathing.
Preferred Habitat - Moist or boggy woods and thickets; hilly
ground.
Flowering Season - May-July.
Distribution - Nova Scotia to Alabama, westward to Minnesota and
Nebraska.
Swinging outward from a leaf-clasped stem, this orchid attracts
us by its flaunted beauty and decorative form from tip to root,
not less than the aesthetic little bees for which its adornment
and mechanism are so marvelously adapted. Doubtless the heavy,
oily odor is an additional attraction to them. Parallel purplish
lines, converging toward the circular opening of the pale yellow,
inflated pouch, guide the visitor into a spacious banquet-hall
(labellum) such as the pink lady's slipper (q.v.) also entertains
her guests in. Fine hairs within secrete tiny drops of fluid at
their tips - a secretion which hardens into a brittle crust, like
a syrup's, when it dries. Darwin became especially interested in
this flower through a delightful correspondence with Professor
Asa Gray, who was the first to understand it, and he finally
secured a specimen to experiment on.
"I first introduced some flies into the labellum through the
large upper opening," Darwin wrote, "but they were either too
large or too stupid, and did not crawl out properly. I then
caught and placed within the labellum a very small bee which
seemed of about the right size, namely Andrena parvula.... The
bee vainly endeavored to crawl out again the same way it entered,
but always fell backwards, owing to the margins being inflected.
The labellum thus acts like one of those conical traps with the
edges turned inwards, which are sold to catch beetles and
cockroaches in London kitchens. It could not creep out through
the slit between the folded edges of the basal part of the
labellum, as the elongated, triangular, rudimentary stamen here
closes the passage. Ultimately it forced its way out through one
of the small orifices close to one of the anthers, and was found
when caught to be smeared with the glutinous pollen. I then put
the same bee into another labellum; and again it crawled out
through one of the small orifices, always covered with pollen. I
repeated the operation five times, always with the same result. I
afterwards cut away the labellum, so as to examine the stigma,
and found its whole surface covered with pollen. It should be
noticed that an insect in making its escape, must first brush
past the stigma and afterwards one of the anthers, so that it
cannot leave pollen on the stigma, until being already smeared
with pollen from one flower it enters another; and thus there
will be a good chance of cross-fertilization between two distinct
plants.... Thus the use of all parts of the flower, - namely, the
inflected edges, or the polished inner sides of the labellum; the
two orifices and their position close to the anthers and stigma,
- the large size of the medial rudimentary stamen, - are rendered
intelligible. An insect which enters the labellum is thus
compelled to crawl out by one of the two narrow passages, on the
sides of which the pollen-masses and stigma are placed."
These common orchids, which are not at all difficult to
naturalize in a well-drained, shady spot in the garden, should be
lifted with a good ball of earth and plenty of leaf-mould
immediately after flowering. Here we can note little American
Andrena bees unwittingly becoming the flower's slaves. Several
species of exotic cypripediums are so common in the city
florist's shops every one has an opportunity to study their
marvelous structure.
The similar SMALL YELLOW LADY'S SLIPPER (C. parviflorum), a
delicately fragrant orchid about half the size of its big sister,
has a brighter yellow pouch, and occasionally its sepals and
petals are purplish. As they usually grow in the same localities,
and have the same blooming season, opportunities for comparison
are not lacking. This fairer, sweeter, little orchid roams
westward as far as the State of Washington.
Next: YELLOW FRINGED ORCHIS
Previous: LARGE YELLOW LADY'S SLIPPER WHIPPOORWILL'S SHOE YELLOW MOCCASIN
|
|
|
|
Informational.ca
