Darwin's Orchids: Then and Now
Retha Edens-Meier and Peter Bernhardt
Abstract
A quorum of scientists, conducting field and laboratory research on orchid pollination in eleven countries, offer reviews and results to celebrate the 150th anniversary of On The Various Contrivances By Which British And Foreign Orchids Are Fertilised By Insects, And On The Good Effects Of Intercrossing (1862). Authors of the first ten chapters follow research on the pollination and breeding systems of the same orchid lineages that interested Darwin, including temperate and tropical species. Authors on the last two chapters provide information on the floral attractants and flowering systems of ... More
A quorum of scientists, conducting field and laboratory research on orchid pollination in eleven countries, offer reviews and results to celebrate the 150th anniversary of On The Various Contrivances By Which British And Foreign Orchids Are Fertilised By Insects, And On The Good Effects Of Intercrossing (1862). Authors of the first ten chapters follow research on the pollination and breeding systems of the same orchid lineages that interested Darwin, including temperate and tropical species. Authors on the last two chapters provide information on the floral attractants and flowering systems of orchids using protocols and technologies unavailable during Darwin’s lifetime. The functional structure of orchid flowers, the chemistry of their fragrances, the behaviour of their pollinators, the effects of seasonal changes on flowering periods, and the role of genetics in determining their genealogy are addressed to show how the study of orchid evolution has expanded and diversified since Darwin (1862, 1877). As so many orchid species are currently threatened or endangered, conservation issues are discussed in terms of reproductive success.
Keywords:
behaviour,
conservation,
Darwin,
evolution,
flowers,
orchid,
pollination,
pollinators,
temperate,
tropical
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2014 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780226044910 |
| Published to Chicago Scholarship Online: May 2015 |
DOI:10.7208/chicago/9780226173641.001.0001 |
