Habenaria galpinii flower full frontal

This Habenaria galpinii flower, insect-like in appearance on account of the six green “legs” protruding conspicuously around the flower’s column, also sports a “tail” below. The tail is the mid-lobe of the lip, the back legs of the "insect" being the lateral lip lobes.

There is also a partly lifted “hat” at the top of the flower. This is the dorsal sepal that together with the lateral sepals, served a coverall, protective purpose during the bud stage.

The complex column parts comprise the reproductive equipment of the flower. There is the upper, head-like bulge, the anthers, two protruding (rostellum) arms in the centre and the feathery tail of fleshy papillae-covered section, the pollinaria below. The third, triangular rostellum lobe is centred above its arms, pointing up.

The rostellum usually serves as a chaperone in the centre of the column. It keeps the male and female flower parts apart, for pollination to be received from other flowers, while the pollen produced here is carried elsewhere in turn by cheap or gullible labour, the pollinators who may be rewarded in nectar or not.

The large lateral sepals are so far reflexed to the back that little of them is visible in the photo. Also invisible is the long (2 cm) spur at the back, below the lip (Lowrey and Wright, 1987; iSpot; www.orchidspecies.com).