Tuesday 22 November 2011

Discovery of night-flowering orchid





A night-flowering orchid, the first of its kind known to science, has been described by a team of botanists.

Experts say the "remarkable" species is the only orchid known to consistently flower at night, but why it has adopted this behaviour remains a mystery.

The plant was discovered by a Dutch researcher during an expedition to New Britain, an island near Papua New Guinea. 
The findings appear in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society.

Its unique flowering behaviour only came to light after the specimen was taken back to the Netherlands. Dr de Vogel took the plant home in an attempt to understand why its buds appeared to wither when they reached a size that would normally produce 2cm flowers.




Although the tiny Bulbophyllum nocturnum is the first known night-flowering orchid, it is not uncommon for plants to flower at night. Most orchids though, flower both day and night.

It is not clear exactly what pollinates Bulbophyllum nocturnum, but scientists think the job is carried out by nocturnal flies. 

The specimen has been identified as belonging to the Bulbophyllum genus, which - with about 2,000 species - is the largest group in the orchid family.

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