Satyrium ligulatum brown corolla tips

The open Satyrium ligulatum flower mouth (a little below the pointed, reflexed bract) has a dry, brown lip tip at its top and a white, strongly down-curved median sepal at its bottom. The positioning of these two parts confirm the fact that Satyrium flowers are not resupinate, meaning twisted upside down as many other orchids are. The spurs at the back of the corolla curve back and down, aligned with the ovaries but whiter than their greenish shapes.

Some lateral petal and sepal tips are also browned. Consistent dry tips on young flowers do nothing else but adding a second noticeable colour. Dryness is hardly the way flowers entice insects to come pollinating. Corolla whiteness suggests moth visits at night. But this species is strongly fragrant both at night and by day. Both moths visiting by night and butterflies by day perform pollination duties for this orchid, an unusual arrangement for the genus.

Maybe the early browning of conspicuous floral parts catches butterfly and other daytime visitor eyes on the white, making withering a significant attribute in these flowers. Otherwise, why the glaring, early floral flaw? Evolution does not play! Cleverness in the brainless of nature continues to put wiseacres to shame (Liltved and Johnson, 2012; iNaturalist).