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International Journal of Research and Review www.ijrrjournal.com E-ISSN: 2349-9788; P-ISSN: 2454-2237

Review Article

Orchid’s Extravaganza - an Old Wives Tale

Rita Paul

Department of , Charuchandra College, 22- Lake Road, Kolkata-700 029

ABSTRACT

Orchids are undoubtedly the most diversified flowering . Many of them possess most stunning and elegant blooms that are beyond our imagination. The fascinating intricate beauty of in the form of colouration and dramatic shapes rarely matched in the world of flora. Several orchids have adopted different forms of and baroque strategies. For these they have employed different ingenious and seemingly improbable mechanisms of deception. In this presentation the different types of mimicry adopted by orchids and the smart deceptive beauties are discussed with an aim to generate an interest to all lovers about the dizzying diversified world of orchids.

Key words: Orchids, Mimicry, Deception, .

INTRODUCTION A sincere approach has been taken to is the fantastically tell an old wives tale of orchid’s diverse family of flowering plants that extravaganza about the deceptive beauty employ many fascinating forms of mimicry and different types of adopted mimicry (i.e., similarity of one to another) along with some amazing examples and and equally diverse pollination . The brief introductory notes with an aim to secret of the astounding diversity of orchids revisit the incredible diversified world of is simply deception (i.e., deliberate orchids and to realize how clever and smart employment of trickery aiming to induce plants the orchids are in reality! misperception). Production of sweet Types of mimicry adopted by different fragrance to attract , rancid smell to lure orchids:- , providing stealth, , possessing A) Directly for reproductive purpose - striking colours are the usual means of where the actions of dupe directly aid in the orchids for attracting . But mimic’s by possessing roughly one third of orchid species do not deceptive that do not provide the offer conventional food rewards to the reward they would seem to. The flowers pollinators, they evolve themselves with a falsely advertise the presence of food by its clever deceit involving visual, aromatic, bright colours and sweet scents, thus tactile or all three at once; but perhaps the limiting the ability of ’s learning most interesting of all is offered by those to avoid non-rewarding members. orchids that hold out the promise of 1) Dodsonian mimicry (After the name of (really weird sex!). Some of the most Calaway H. Dodson) - Includes cases specialized orchids through uncanny where the model belongs to a different resemblance with other became the species than the mimic. By providing center of attraction to researchers for several similar sensory signals (like morphology, years. colour, smell) as the model flower (rewarding species), it (deceptive species) International Journal of Research & Review (www.gkpublication.in) 1 Vol.4; Issue: 1; January 2017 Rita Paul. Orchid’s Extravaganza – an Old Wives Tale can lure its pollinators, but no reward mimicry etc. ensure sufficient pollination (nectar/oil) is provided i.e., the orchids rate. of food- employ the strategy of food deception by deceptive orchids also varies according to taking the advantage of a pollinator’s innate the characteristics of rewarding co- sensory biases or tendency to associate a flowering species. Early-flowering specific perceptual cue with food. deceptive orchids get additional benefit Examples – from a higher average density of naive (i) The orchid Epidendrum ibaguense (do pollinators [7] and from lower competition not have any nectar) resembles (Fig.1A) with rewarding co-flowering species. [8] nectar bearing flowers of Lantana camara Kindlmann and Jersáková [9] showed that (Fig.1B; Verbenaceae) and Asclepias the peak of flowering of deceptive orchids curassavica (Fig.1C; Asclepiadaceae), and occur earlier compared to that of rewarding thus get pollinated by Monarch orchids. Interestingly starting date of and perhaps hummingbirds that can’t flowering is more relevant than the discriminate between the apparently similar flowering peak – the most successful flowers. [1] individuals usually start to flower before (ii) The rewardless orchid Tolumnia their ’s flowering peak. [10] guibertiana resemble (Fig.1D) the oil 2) Pouyannian mimicry (After the name producing yellow flowers of Stigmaphyllon of Maurice Alexandre Pouyanne) – In diversifolium (Fig.1E; Malpigiaceae) and this case a flower mimics a of a Ouratea agrophylla (Fig.1F; Ochnaceae) certain species, whose males try to and are pollinated by an oil gathering copulate with the flower, thus female (Centris poecila). [2] pseudocopulation occurs i.e., the orchids (iii) The food-deceptive orchid take the strategy of sexual deception. globosa resemble (Fig.1I) the Regardless of this occasional eureka rewarding species of Knautia (Fig.1G) and moments the system persists. By this way Scabiosa (Fig.1H) of Dipsacaceae and orchids may account for around 60% of Valeriana (Fig.1J) of Caprifoliaceae family. . Jersáková et al. [3] showed that both naive Examples – and experienced insect species approach the (i) The of nearly all of the about orchids at the same rate as in the other three 300 species of flower acts (Fig.1K) genera. as a dummy female of a species of bee or (iv) In green-veined or green winged orchid (depending on the species of Ophrys), (Anacamptis morio) the flower produces a the males visit the flower and try to copulate scent that attracts the plants main pollinator with the flower; during pseudocopulation queen bumblebee – which associate the (Fig.1M) it acquires the gobbet of odour with nectar; although, in this case the and subsequently transmits them to other scent profile is different from the rewarding blossoms. [11-15] species (A. coriophora) and the amount of (ii) More than 30 species of the scent emission was lower than the are pollinated [16-18] by thynnine rewarding species. [4] of the genus Neozeleboria by In the first three examples the similar pseudocopulation (Fig.1N). signals are in terms of morphology and (iii) Australian tongue orchid ( colour of flower but in the last example it is leptochila) which bears a sufficient in terms of smell of flower. resemblance to the female of the ichneumon Food-deceptive orchids usually bear with wasp Lissopimpla semipunctata to induce low reproductive success than their male wasp for pseudocopulation. [19-20] rewarding counterparts due to limited (iv) The labellum shape and indument of pollination, [5-6] but absence of competition ringens are reminiscent of an of pollinators in such orchids, relying on insect. Sexually excited drones of

International Journal of Research & Review (www.gkpublication.in) 2 Vol.4; Issue: 1; January 2017 Rita Paul. Orchid’s Extravaganza – an Old Wives Tale

Nannotrigona testaceicornis and Secondly, nectar besides being Scaptotrigona sp. attempt with metabolically expensive for the flower to the labellum and pollinate the flower in the produce is liked by so many different process. [21] animals which comes to flower for the (v) Drakaea glyptodont (Fig.1L), an nectar and may often cause a loss of endangered genus native to being by not delivering it to a right target. pollinated by pseudocopulation only with Producing floral odour with only a little the thynnine wasp Zapilothynnus trilobatus. variation, orchids develop relationship with The males of this wasp species are sexually a single, highly devoted pollinator which attracted to the orchid first by a scent that can insure more precise delivery to the mimics the female wasp , [22] actual target. [19] Specializing with one then at short range by the visual similarity pollinator and appealing to it with sex, lead of the orchid labellum to the female wasp's to less precious pollen lost in the transport abdomen. [23] process and the orchid may avoid clogging In all the cases sexual deception is of stigmas with other non-compatible pollen very specific – each orchid attracts only one and subsequently show high pollination or very few insect species. [18,24] So in efficiency. [30] appealing to sex, these orchids limit their Variation in floral traits in deceptive potential pollinators, which would seem to orchids may be adaptive for the plants, as it be a reproductive disadvantage. Despite the may delay the avoidance learning of the apparent drawback, sexual deception has pollinators. [7] Moreover, variation in the evolved several times in different orchids. chemistry of floral scent can function as In most of the cases floral scent, which much as geographic isolation does in the mimics the sex of female creation of new species.[19] Pollinator shift insect, has been suggested to be the main through changes in floral scent can provide attractant of pollinators. [22,25-28] Bower and a mechanism for pollinator driven Brown [18] were of opinion that in both in orchids. [31] Ophrys and Chiloglottis, floral scent For the tongue orchid (Cryptostylis composition is driven towards their sp.) the sexual deception is beyond the pollinators’ preferences in both quantity and pseudocopulation. The wasp, in the throes quality. In few cases the odour of the of its misguided sexual exertions, actually flower is a more potent attractant for the ejaculates onto the flower and thus waste male than that of the appropriate female. [29] copious – the height of maladaptive Advantage of orchids to avoid a simple . [19] Gaskett et al. [32] showed that nectar reward mechanism and rely on this orchid species provoking such extreme elaborate pollination mechanism – pollination behavior have the highest Firstly, the sexual frustration of a pollination success. It is found that the wasp deluded bee resulting from is a haplodiploid species – it can reproduce pseudocopulation turns out to be an with or without sperm. With sperm, they essential part of the orchid’s reproduction produce usual ratio of male and female strategy. [19] After pseudocopulation, the bee , without sperm they produce only determined not to do the same mistake again male offspring. By inducing wasp to waste and travel a distance and then a ways off sperm on flowers, tongue orchid results in may involve in pseudocopulation again (!) more male population than female, thus with an orchid that may have ‘subtle increases the competition in male for variation’ in appearance as well as in smell. , which leads the desperate wasps Thus the bee cannot learn not to fall over a less picky in their choice of mates and thus flower again and the orchid ends up with much more likely to fall for a flower. [19,32] success in trickery deception. B) For defensive purpose (some indirectly aid in reproduction) – In this type orchids

International Journal of Research & Review (www.gkpublication.in) 3 Vol.4; Issue: 1; January 2017 Rita Paul. Orchid’s Extravaganza – an Old Wives Tale are able to avoid encounters that would be treating them as something else. harmful to them by deceiving enemies into

Figs. 1 (A-V). Flowers of: A- Epidendrum ibaguense, B- Lantana camara, C- Asclepias curassavica, D- Tolumnia guibertiana, E- Stigmaphyllon diversifolium, F- Ouratea agrophylla, G- Knautia arvensis, H- Scabiosa columbaria, I- Traunsteinera globosa, J- Valeriana montana, K- Ophrys speculum, L- Drakaea glyptodon; pseudocopulation of: M- and male mystaceus, N- and male Neozeleboria proxima; O- simia, P- Caleana major, Q- Habenaria radiata, R- Orchis angusticruris, S- Phalaenopsis nivacolor, T- Bratonia toscana, U- Dracula chesterotonii, V- Dendrobium helix. (All the photos are taken from www.google.co.in)

1) (After the name of (ii) Caleana major - commonly known as Henry Walter Bates) – Here mimic poses flying Duck orchid as the flower looks themselves as something else (stranger or (Fig.1P) like a flying duck. It is a small stronger or dangerous) than they actually orchid and pollinated via male saw flies. are. When the insect touches the labellum, it Examples – quickly snaps shut trapping the saw ; (i) – commonly known as upon release it carries the picked up pollen Monkey faced orchid as the flower looks to the next orchid it visit. (Fig.1O) like a face of monkey. The (iii) Habenaria radiata – commonly known smells like a ripe orange when fully as flying orchid. The flower resembles blossomed. Small monkeys sometimes try to (Fig.1Q) to the white garnet, spreading its copulate with this orchid.

International Journal of Research & Review (www.gkpublication.in) 4 Vol.4; Issue: 1; January 2017 Rita Paul. Orchid’s Extravaganza – an Old Wives Tale fluffy white wings and is ready to take off. information available in various resources It is pollinated by moth and . according to author’s own thinking. So, the (iv) Phalaenopsis nivacolor – commonly author is grateful to all the scientists referred in known as Moth orchid as the flowers this article. resemble (Fig.1S) moths in flight. They REFERENCES might attract insect or other animals that 1. Cingel NAV. An Atlas of Orchid look out for moth and get pollinated by Pollination – America, Africa, Asia, and them or through male moth itself by Australia. Rotterdam, USA: AA Balkema pseudocopulation. Publishers; 2001. P. 121. (v) Bratonia toscana – commonly known as 2. Vale A, Navarro L, Rojas D, et al. orchid – the spiky resemble Breeding system and pollination by (Fig.1T) a spider to attract spider eating mimicry of the orchid Tolumnia guibertiana in Western Cuba. Plant Spec wasps which then end up pollinating the Biol. 2011;26(2):163-173. orchid. 3. Jersáková J, Spaethe J, Streinzer M, et al. (vi) Orchis angusticruris – commonly Does Traunsteinera globosa (the globe known as Man orchid – It is a orchid orchid) dupe its pollinators through (O. purpurea × O. simia). The look generalized food deception or mimicry? (Fig.1R) like a man. Bot J Linn Soc. 2016;180:269-294. (vii) Dracula chesterotonii – commonly 4. Salzmann CC, Nardella AM, Cozzolino S, et al. Variability in floral scent in known as Mushroom orchid as the labellum rewarding and deceptive orchids: the resemble (Fig.1U) the gilled surface of an signature of pollinator-imposed selection. agaric mushroom. The physical likeness is Ann Bot. 2007;100(4):757-765. paralleled by mushroom like scents. The 5. Neiland MRM, Wilcock CC. set, small fly genus Zygothrica, which nectar reward, and rarity in the accomplish their by elaborate Orchidaceae. Am J Bot. 1998;85:1657- courtship dances on mushroom, are attracted 1671. 6. Tremblay RL, Ackerman JD, Zimmerman by this orchid, where pollen rubs onto the JK, et al. Variation in thorax. Travelling to another flower in orchids and its evolutionary complete the pollen transfer. consequences: a spasmodic journey to (viii) Dendrobium helix - A large to giant diversification. Biol J Linn Soc. sized, hot growing epiphyte. The flowers are 2005;84:1-54. variable in colour from green to pink but all 7. Heinrich B. Bee flowers—hypothesis on have very strange flowers (Fig.1V) with flower variety and blooming times. 1975;29:325-334. petals and that are heavily curled and 8. Internicola AI, Juillet N, Smithson A, et twisting carried on flower spikes up to 2 feet al. Experimental investigation of the long, which provide a landing place for effect of spatial aggregation on pollinators. reproductive success in a rewardless There are many more Orchid genus that orchid. Oecologia 2006;150:435-441. looks like different other entities. 9. Kindlmann P, Jersáková J. Effect of floral display on reproductive success in terrestrial orchids. Folia Geobot. CONCLUSION 2006;41:47-60. The remarkable diversity of orchid 10. Sun HQ, Cheng J, Zhang FM, et al. species with spectacular floral forms Reproductive success of non-rewarding showing mimicry is a wonder of nature and Cypripedium japonicum benefits from it opens up a huge area of research. low spatial dispersion pattern and asynchronous flowering. Ann Bot. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 2009;103:1227-1237. The author has no pretension to 11. Vereecken NJ, Schiest FP. On the roles of expertise in this vast field, nor do claim an colour and scent in a specialized floral exhaustive treatment of the topic. It is an mimicry system. Ann Bot. 2009;104(6):1077-1084. attempt from the keen interest to compile the International Journal of Research & Review (www.gkpublication.in) 5 Vol.4; Issue: 1; January 2017 Rita Paul. Orchid’s Extravaganza – an Old Wives Tale

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How to cite this article: Paul R. Orchid’s extravaganza - an old wives tale. International Journal of Research and Review. 2017; 4(1):1-6.

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International Journal of Research & Review (www.gkpublication.in) 6 Vol.4; Issue: 1; January 2017