Page 32 - JCAU-5-4

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Floral strategies for regenerative design

Figure 1. Diagram of key flower structures by Mariana Ruiz.
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: Mature_flower_
diagram.svg (Accessed August 08, 2023)
Figure 2. Echinacea (an inspiration for XENO). Source: Photo by Anna
pollinators find themselves ensnared in exquisitely designed Vershinina
environments full of sensory delights. By spreading another
organism’s sperm, pollinators are therefore engaged in
a vegetal tryst, which can be so precisely orchestrated
that only a particular type of creature and its associated
behavior is invited. Thus, a compelling choreography of
body and space begins (Figure 2).
Charles Darwin first noted the exquisite relationship
between orchids and their pollinators, with more than
28,000 species of these plants worldwide (Darwin, 2015).
One of the most common tactics that orchids use to lure
insects toward their pollen is by producing fragrant oils or
nectar. For example, the vanilla orchid produces a sweet
fragrance that attracts bees and butterflies. Some orchids
also mimic the appearance and scent of female insects to
attract male pollinators. The Ophrys orchid produces a
flower that resembles a female bee, complete with a scent Figure 3. Insect mimicry by orchids. Source: Photo by Rolf Hughes, 2023
that mimics its pheromones, which attracts male bees who
attempt to mate with it, becoming showered in pollen morganii praedicta) was finally discovered in 1903 by the
during the process. Other orchids have evolved to attract entomologist Frederick William Edwards who recognized
specific species of pollinators through a range of highly it from Darwin’s predictions, which was instantly
unique features (Figure 3). The bucket orchid, for example, recognizable by possessing an exceptionally long tongue in
has a deep, conical shape that forces its bee pollinators to a later collaboration between entomologists at the Muséum
crawl deep inside the flower to reach the nectar. As they do National d’Histoire Naturelle (France) and the Natural
so, the bee is coated in pollen and must exit the flower by a History Museum (United Kingdom), which was led by
specific path, thus ensuring pollination of other flowers of Professor Joël Minet, where the average tongue length
the same species. for the Wallace’s sphinx moth was shown to be 21.97 cm
Orchids also use visual cues to attract pollinators. The (8.6 in) in females and 20.65 cm (8.1 in) in males (Figure 4;
Dracula orchid, for instance, produces dark, reddish- Minet et al., 2021).
black flowers with long, dangly petals that resemble a 2.2. Investigating alternative ways of experiencing
bat, which draws the attention of fruit flies, its primary the world
pollinators. Such relationships are so specific that Darwin
even predicted the existence of moths with extremely long Pollinating insects have different sensory apparatuses
mouthparts to reach the nectar at the long tubular base than we do and their encounters with flowers is likely far
of the Madagascar star orchid (Angraecum sesquipedale). different experience than our own. Angiosperms use a
This pollinator, the Wallace’s sphinx moth (Xanthopan variety of strategies to compel and overwhelm pollinators

Volume 5 Issue 4 (2023) 3 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.1006