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136
My Studio Neighbors
·
W. Hamilton Gibson
103
Suppose,
for
example,
an
unknown
orchid
blossom
to
be
placed
in
our
hands.
Its
nectary
tube
is
five
inches
in
length,
and
as
slender
as
a
knitting-needle.
The
nectar
is
secreted
far
within
its
lip.
The
evolution
of
the
long
nectary
implies
an
adaptation
to
an
insect's
tongue
of
equal
length.
What
insect
has
a
tongue
five
inches
long,
and
sufficiently
slender
to
probe
this
nectary?
The
sphinx-moth
only.
Hence
we
infer
the
sphinx-moth
to
be
the
insect
complement
to
the
blossom,
and
we
may
correctly
infer,
moreover,
that
the
flower
is
thus
a
night-bloomer.
Examination
of
the
flower,
with
the
form
of
this
moth
in
mind,
will
show
other
adaptations
to
the
insect's
form
in
the
position
of
pollen
and
stigma,
looking
to
the
flower's
cross-fertilization.
In
some
cases
this
is
effected
by
the
aid
of
the
insect's
tongue;
in
others,
by
its
eyes.
In
our
own
native
orchids
we
have
a
remarkable
example
of
the
latter
form
in
the
Habenaria
orbiculata,
whose
structure
and
mechanism
have
also
been
admirably
described
by
Asa
Gray.
All
orchid-hunters
know
this
most
exceptional
example
of
our
local
flora,
and
the
thrill
of
delight
experienced
when
one
first
encounters
it
in
the
mountain
wilderness,
its
typical
haunt,
is
an
event
to
date
from--its
two
great,
glistening,
fluted
leaves,
sometimes
as
large
as
a
dinner-plate,
spreading
flat
upon
the
mould,
and
surmounted
by
the
slender
leafless
stalk,
with
its
terminal
loose
raceme
of
greenish-white
bloom.
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