Orchid

Living Systems Practical 9: Sex, rewards and pollination

Group members: Stephanie Terry, Amy Moss, Jessica Cumberland, Damon Tonnet

Plants species: //__ Cattleya sp. __// Plant family: Orchidaceae Common name: Light yellow cattleya orchid Distribution: Costa Rica to tropical South America growing on wet forest trees as epiphytes. Now world wide due to their ornamental value. Source: [] Colour: Pale yellow petals with red detail on central column

The structure, colour and scent is attractive to bees. They crawl down into the flower, picking up the pollen packets from the orchid and leaving pollen from other flower from previously visited plants. The flower is fertilized and can develop into an embryo. The benefit of this interaction for the bees is that they pick up oil from the orchids that are advantagous in their hive.
 * Pollination and Fertilization:**

The flower morphology is central to its ability of attractive bees as well as obtaining and giving away pollen through pollen packets.
 * Flower Morphology:**

Each plant was bisected using a sharp razor blade insuring that no systems were crushed. Using calipers the distance from the bottom of the ovary (female) to the tip of the anther (male) was measured. The height from the pedicle to the tip of the largest petal was taken using a similar technique.

//__Image of orchid infloresence bisected to show female and male structures__// The plant has two pollen packets. The pollen grains, in most orchids, are aggregated into packets containing thousands of pollen grains and usually are removed as a unit. No pollen grains are visable upon dissection.
 * Table 1. Measurements of the orchid**
 * Flower Number || Length from ovary to anther (cm) || Height from base to tip of petal (cm) ||
 * 1 || 5.5 || 7 ||
 * 2 || 3.8 || 6.6 ||
 * 3 || 4.5 || 6.3 ||
 * 4 || 4.6 || 7.1 ||
 * 5 || 4.2 || 6.4 ||
 * Average || 4.52 || 6.68 ||
 * Standard Deviation || 0.63 || 0.36 ||
 * Pollen Morph****ology:**

//__Image of pollinia from anthers of a pale yellow Orchid__// Orchids dont produce nectar, instead they produce oils that are used to reward the bees.
 * Nectar Characterisation:**