I have been acting like a real mother hen about this one for several weeks now. The bud seemed to grow painfully slow (although it really didn’t) and I was worried that it would actually open up while we were away in Cannes for 5 days and I would miss the big moment. This is my first Coryanthes, and a friend of mine had informed me that the flowers that usually only lasts a few days, so it was a close call. Luckily we made it home just in time. I had clearly underestimated the size of a pregnant Coryanthes and the bud had some more swelling to do while we were gone – check out the monster bud the day before popping!
But the most fascinating thing about Coryanthes is not the amazing flowers, it’s the sex! Fragrance collecting male Euglossa, Eulaema and Euplusia bees, also known as orchid bees, court the Coryanthes flowers and in the process handles the pollination. The bees are attracted by the characteristic aroma of the flower. The excited bee falls in the liquid filled bucket and can’t climb back up the slippery walls. It can’t fly out either due to the wet wings. In the struggle to escape, the bee passes the stigma which deposits a sticky viscidium on its back and when the poor creature passes the pollinarium it picks up a dose of pollinia. Finally freedom is within reach as the bee reaches the lateral sepals where he can rest and dry off from his ordeal. The whole process can take up to forty five minutes and leaves a rather traumatized bee. He won’t be so keen on going back for seconds, which cleverly prevents self pollination. Eventually though, the bee cannot resist the scent of another flower and the whole process is repeated. Pollination is achieved – simply amazing!
There are about 30 species in the genus originating from the Americas, from Guatemala to Bolivia. They grow primarily in ant nests in humid and wet forests up to altitudes of 1200 meters. They probably sport the most complex flower in the orchid family, and I find them incredible fascinating albeit a bit short lived. But this is understandable, you try to look fabulous for more than a few days while both smelling good, looking good, and dripping entoxicating bathwater all day… You better enjoy it fast though… mine is already fading.
I actually bought this as a Coryanthes alborosea, which it definitely is not. I am pretty sure it is a Coryanthes feildingii (thanks for the ID Piotr), so I guess I still need to look for a “real” alborosea.
Wow! Such wonderful images! Amazing flower – and poor bee! Hoho! 😉
Thanks Marius! Yeah, an awesome pollination story isn’t it! 😀
I will never forget the smell of Coryanthes vieirae when it opened for the first time at my father’s greenhouse many years ago. That was the first time that species bloomed under cultivation.
Oh, that must have been something really special! I have not grown them before because they are actually a bit too large for my limited growing space, but I have decided to make room for a few at least because it is such a facinating genus. What was the Coryanthes vieirae fragrance like? …and if you don’t mind me asking, who’s your father? 🙂