The flowers of species in this genus are marvelously "odd". The main function of flowers is to attract pollinators, and examination of floral parts generally reveals functional beauty. But with this genus, I have no idea why the flower is shaped like this. The flowers of Scaphosepalum are up-side-down compared to majority of orchids. This is called non-resupinate, but actually, Scaphosepalum has the up-side-up correctly. The majority of orchids have the up-side-down flowers (called resupinate flowers ), so the Scaphosepalum flowers are technically up-side-up. Kind of confusing, isn't it? A bit of basic floral morphology of orchids. All orchids have 3 sepals and 3 petals (although sometimes these were fused). In a typical orchid flower, the top most sepal is called a dorsal sepal, and the other two spreading downward are lateral sepals. So imagine a Phalaenopsis flower and overlay a clock on it. At 12 ...
Plants, Orchids, and Life in North