#apomorphy

Dissecting the secrets of sexual attraction in orchids

What is it about a flower that attracts a pollinator? In Functional differentiation in pollination processes among floral traits in Serapias species (Orchidaceae) Pellegrino, Bellusci and Palermo make some alterations to a couple of orchids to see what happens. What they did was make a few alterations to the flowers, either cutting parts, or painting others to see what happened with pollinaria…