Strength in small numbers
The yellow lady’s slipper orchid is astonishingly successful at reproducing, even in fragmented habitats. | Photo: iStockphoto
The habitat of the yellow lady’s slipper orchid is becoming increasingly fragmented. A team from the University of Neuchâtel has been investigating how this magnificent flower is coping. When one of a small population of fewer than twenty specimens, the orchid grows less well, has smaller flowers and secretes fewer scents to attract pollinators. What the researchers found surprising, however, was that these disadvantages didn’t prevent the orchids from reproducing just as successfully as those living in populations of over a hundred plants.
