Peter O'Byrne said: >Oberonia fungumolens acquired this specific name because you can >smell it from some distance downwind, even on a dry day.
Hence your e-mail address: [EMAIL PROTECTED] :=) >I've just returned from fieldwork in Malaysia, where Coelogyne cumingii is >blooming in the mountains. This species usually smells strongly of jasmine, >but one particular plant that I encountered on this trip had flowers with a >"rather unpleasant scent, like wet socks" The whole thing is interesting, from two angles. One is 'how' and the other is 'why'. Taking the 'why' first, the presumed object of scent release is to attract pollinators. If a plant releases a scent in the evening alone, one suspects and evening visitor. However, if it smells thus during the dry afternoon and so immediately after rain, is it attracting two separate pollinators: one that is present in dry conditions and another which only flies when humidity is high? If so, then this is a considerable evolutionary leap. Or perhaps normal, quotidian pollinators get 'bored', and need the equivalent of sexy knickers to raise their interest. In which case, why only after rain? In respect of the 'how', plainly the flower responds to higher turgor. The speed with which it does so implies that it secretes or exposes pre-prepared scents, rather than making them from scratch. I know of no record of organs which do this in flowers of any species, but perhaps readers can correct my ignorance. However, I wonder the could not be a chemical reaction between the existing odorant and water which falls physically on the flower, rather than being taken up by the roots. I will try the experiment as soon as we have a warm day, but right now Britain is celebrating April with several inches of snow. ______________________________ Oliver Sparrow +44 (0)1628 823187 www.chforum.org _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
