Ophrys insectifera, the Fly Orchid, is a species of orchid and the type species of the genus Ophrys. It is native to Europe and favors sites with alkaline soil. The name arises because it resembles a fly, being totally dependent on flies and bees for pollination. However this is fairly unsuccessful as they seldom visit the flower and it forms seed only infrequently. The plants use scent to attract male flies, which pollinate the flowers as they attempt to mate with the flower. The scent released by the flowers mimic female fly sexual pheromones.
What explanation is there for the uncanny resemblance these orchids have to the insects that they rely on for pollination, as if they were potential mates? It’s a very strange adaptation.
It’s strange, but it works: Nature is a good freak for wild adaptation.
It gets weirder, of course. I have a great little succulent cactus type plant growing in my greenhouse that has a bloom which balloons out, then expands into a maroon flower which looks exactly like a dead critter’s bloated anus, right down to the l’il A-hole in the center of the flower. And, it smells precisely like a rotting, days old dead thing on the side of the road. Not somewhat like, but exactly like that nasty, kinda salty, but ugghhh! smell of a bloated dead creature. That flower is mimicikng a dead critter’s anus to attract the flies that love that venue in order to pollinate it.
I’m a sad falterer here that I can’t remember the official name of the plant; our fond name is Roadkill Ass Plant. Will check the tag tomorrow for the proper name, and look at botanical books tomorrow for a better answer to your OP.
Yep, bingo, Stapeilia gigantea, and it’s amazing how descriptions dance around the fact that it mimics a rotting creature’s A-hole, to the color, size, and holeishness. Just mention of “carrion scent”.
Yep, carrion scent, but with all directions toward an antelope’s( South African plant) fertile dead anal region. The fact that a plant can evolve that mimicry, with the Exact scent, blows my mind. Time to get out the serious DNA measuring crew.
Can you imagine being poor Johannes van Stapel? “What’s your family famous for?” “Oh, one of our ancestors was a botanist and physician in the 17th Century, but what we’re mostly famous for is the fact that Linnaeus named the Asshole Flower for him.”
There are three things I can think of as possible reasons:
Most plants attract pollinators with nectar, which is sugary and relatively expensive to produce calorie-wise. Coloration is cheap and scents are not that expensive either.
By attracting only specific pollinators, the species is more likely to have a successful pollination from any one fly/bee. It takes two visits to flowers to have successful pollination - an initial visit to pick up pollen and a visit to a second flower to deposit the pollen.
By attracting only specific pollinators, the species is less likely to be hybridized with other related flower species.