Nature Screen: Orchids Plants Behaving Badly

Darwin’s book On the Origin of Species published in 1859, shook the scientific world and far beyond. Yet it was his next book, devoted entirely to orchids, Fertilization of Orchids, published in 1862, filled in gaps and clarified his revolutionary ideas. Orchids have an ethereal beauty, whether growing hundreds of feet up in a misty rainforest or along the edges of busy suburban roads. Using sex as a lure by impersonating a female bee or wasp, their exotic flowers are shaped for just one purpose – to seduce pollinators. Orchids still fascinate scientists today, and this film reveals a world of deceit and treachery worthy of any fictional thriller. Narrated by David Attenborough.

Free with admission.