Hey all, thought I'd start a new thread devoted to orchid pollination!

Beskriver posted this bibliography in another thread:

Banziger H, Sun HQ, Luo YB
Pollination of a slippery lady slipper orchid in South-West China: Cypripedium guttatum (Orchidaceae)
BOTANICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY 148 (3): 251-264 JUL 2005

Schiestl FP
On the success of a swindle: pollination by deception in orchids
NATURWISSENSCHAFTEN 92 (6): 255-264 JUN 2005

Tremblay RL, Ackerman JD, Zimmerman JK, et al.
Variation in sexual reproduction in orchids and its evolutionary consequences: a spasmodic journey to diversification
BIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY 84 (1): 1-54 JAN 2005

Sugiura N, Goubara M, Kitamura K, et al.
Bumblebee pollination of Cypripedium macranthos var. rebunense (Orchidaceae); a possible case of floral mimicry of Pedicularis schistostegia (Orobanchaceae)
PLANT SYSTEMATICS AND EVOLUTION 235 (1-4): 189-195 2002

Lipow SR, Bernhardt P, Vance N
Comparative rates of pollination and fruit set in widely separated populations of a rare orchid (Cypripedium fasciculatum)
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PLANT SCIENCES 163 (5): 775-782 SEP 2002

Sugiura N, Fujie T, Inoue K, et al.
Flowering phenology, pollination, and fruit set of Cypripedium macranthos var. rebunense, a threatened lady's slipper (Orchidaceae)
JOURNAL OF PLANT RESEARCH 114 (1114): 171-178 JUN 2001

Erneberg M, Holm B
Bee size and pollen transfer in Cypripedium calceolus (Orchidaceae)
NORDIC JOURNAL OF BOTANY 19 (3): 363-367 1999

Primack R, Stacy E
Cost of reproduction in the pink lady's slipper orchid, (Cypripedium acaule, Orchidaceae): An eleven-year experimental study of three populations
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 85 (12): 1672-1679 DEC 1998

O'Connell LM, Johnston MO
Male and female pollination success in a deceptive orchid, a selection study
ECOLOGY 79 (4): 1246-1260 JUN 1998

Banziger H
The mesmerizing wart: The pollination strategy of epiphytic lady slipper orchid Paphiopedilum villosum (Lindl) Stein (Orchidaceae)
BOTANICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY 121 (1): 59-90 MAY 1996



To it, I would add:

Van Der Cingel, N.A. An Atlas of Orchid Pollination. Rotterdam, Netherlands: A.A. Balkema, 2001.
This book is exceptionally good. It contains summaries of pollination studies on all kinds of orchids, including many on slippers.

Title Pollination of Paphiopedilum rothschildianum : Brood-site deception.
Author Atwood, JT
Source NATL. GEOGR. RES. Vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 247-254. 1985
(PDF available upon request)

More to come on individual species when I have more time!

--Stephen

I'm all for it. I'd love to get the PDF of the Atwood paper.

Information from: Van Der Cingel, N.A. An Atlas of Orchid Pollination. Rotterdam, Netherlands: A.A. Balkema, 2001.
Which is really just summaries of information from a bunch of studies that I'm too lazy to cite individually

South America!

Phragmipedium longifolium var. hartwegii - pollinated by halictine bees and syrphid flies in Western Ecuador. "After landing on the extended lip they wandered to the shield formed by the infolded margins of the sides of the lip, apparently attracted by the green wartlike protrusions, and after attempts to feed on these, slipped, falling into the labellum pouch and working their way out through the exits under the stigma and anthers.

The long petals of P. caudatum "seem to have a function in the attraction of flies" [no sh*t...]

P. lindenii (the slipperless slipper orchid) is autogamous (self-pollinating). "A third anther extends from under the column and presses the pollinium directly against the stigma."

Asia!

"Syrphid flies that lay their eggs on the staminode seem to pollinate species of the section Coryopedilum. These flies normally lay their eggs on aphids."

Parvisepalums are thought to be bee-polinated because they resemble bee-pollinated species of Phragmipedium and Cypripedium.

Brachypetalums are thought to be fly-pollinated due to their putrid odors and spot patterns.

"P. lowii and P. mastersianum show autogamy by structural modification in which pollinia and stigma develop in contact."

P. charlesworthii's pink-purple dorsal mimics rewarding flowers (those that provide nectar) to attract Apis cerana bees, although no pollination was observed. A hoverfly was seen picking up pollinia after being attracted to the staminode.

P. fairrieanum (not a very attractive flower, IMHO....*duck*), have transparent windows in the lips to guide flies around the flower. The windows act to let light in, which the flies are attracted to. There are also such windows in the dorsal sepal, which helps it to act "as a backboard as in basketball."

P. parishii has been observed being pollinated by Allographa robinsonii. (I have no idea what that insect is)

P. rothschildianum was observed being pollinated by syrphid flies, believed to be attracted by the aphid-colony-mimicking staminode and a peppery/spicy fragrance.

P. sanderianum is the only Paph species known to secrete nectar. It is produced on the upper side portion of the pouch. The function of the insanely long petals is only speculation.

P. villosum uses color contrast and a urine-like odor for long-distance attraction of hoverflies. Close-range attraction is to the "glittering staminode, which mimics droplets of moisture and/or honeydew. It has a slippery wart at its centre."

--Stephen

p.s. For the Atwood PDF, just shoot me a PM with your e-mail and I'll send it along

Would love to get hold of the diversification book. Hope it is available in India.
Mang