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On the Various Contrivances by Which British and Foreign Orchids Are Fertilised by Insects; And on the Good Effects of Intercrossing
On the Various Contrivances by Which British and Foreign Orchids Are Fertilised by Insects And on the Good Effects of Intercrossing Author:Charles Darwin General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1862 Original Publisher: J. Murray Subjects: Orchids Pollination by insects Fertilization of plants Orchids Reproduction Fertilisation of plants Gardening / Flowers / Orchids Nature / Plants Science / Life Sciences / Botany Notes: This is a black and white O... more »CR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: CHAPTER III. Epipactis palustris; curious shape of the labcllum and its apparent importance in the fructification of the flower -- Cephalanthera grandiflora ; rostellum aborted; early penetration of the pollen- tubes ; case of imperfect self-fertilisation ; fertilisation aided by insects -- Goodyera repens -- Spiranthes autumnalis ; perfect adaptation by which the pollen of a younger flower is carried to the stigma of an older flower on another plant. We now come to another great tribe of British Orchids, the Neottese, which have a free anther standing hehind the stigma: their pollen-grains are tied together by fine elastic threads, which partially cohere and project at the upper end of the pollen-mass, and are attached (with some exceptions) to the back of the rostellum. Consequently the pollen-masses have no true and distinct caudicles. In one genus alone (Goodyera) the pollen-grains are collected into packets as in Orchis. Epipactis and Goodyera agree pretty closely in their manner of fertilisation with the Ophrea3, but are more simply organised : Spiranthes comes under the same category, but in some respects is differently modified. Cephalanthera seems to be a de- Pig. XIII. Epipactis Palustris. a. anther, with the two open auricle, referred to in a cells seen in the front future chapter, view D. I r. rostellum. s. stigma. a', rudimentary anther, or I. labellum. A. Si...« less