The labellum, which is articulated at the base of the column, is trilobed, reddish-brown spotted and papillose with acute lateral lobes. |
|
In attempting unsuccessfully to couple with the labellum the male pushes its head forward below the overhanging column. |
|
The males then try to mate with the labellum or else lift it as they would a female wasp. |
|
These encounters can be quite violent and frequently result in the labellum being torn from the flower. |
|
For example, the weakly zygomorphic flower is scarlet, shows diurnal anthesis and has a backwardly curved labellum. |
|
The labellum is fixed or, as in most cases, hinged and articulated at the base of the column. |
|
Finally, nectar collects in the saccate nectary spur formed by the fusion of the margins of the labellum and the base of the column-foot. |
|
Saccate nectary at base of floral tube formed by partial fusion of labellum and column. |
|
The labellum is broad and obtuse, except for the yellow base, which stands erect and half-encloses the column. |
|
It was also noticed that many areas of the labellum surface, especially the median region, are glabrous and smooth. |
|
The labellum indument resembles, although superficially, that of the hairy areas of an insect tegument. |
|
These rewards include pseudopollen, wax or a viscid, resinous material secreted by the labellum and floral nectar. |
|
The three-lobed labellum is attached to the column by a column foot, where the nectary is located. |
|
The labellum is mounted on a hinge, so the male's momentum makes it swing over, flipping him upside-down. |
|
Each inflorescence bears numerous, small flowers with widely spreading tepals, tomentose on the outer surface, and a labellum with well-developed side lobes. |
|
The function of pollen deposition is centralized precisely in the median plane opposite the labellum. |
|
The flower is made up of long brownish purple petals and sepals that encircle the golden yellow slipper-shaped labellum. |
|
Greenish white in color, its solitary flower displays a quite large and spread out labellum with long fringes. |
|
In the family Costaceae, the large labellum represents a union of all five nonfunctional stamens, and in some cases it can be seen to be five-lobed. |
|
The osmophores are mostly located in the labellum, with sporadic occurrence in the sepals. |
|
|
In the Zingiberaceae and Costaceae, 24 or 5 staminodes fuse together to form a novel structure, the staminodial labellum. |
|
Pollinators are often visually attracted by the shape and colours of the labellum. |
|