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  • On the various contrivances by which British and foreign orchids are fertilised by insects : and on the good effects of intercrossing / by Charles Darwin.
  • On the various contrivances by which British and foreign orchids are fertilised by insects : and on the good effects of intercrossing / by Charles Darwin.
  • On the various contrivances by which British and foreign orchids are fertilised by insects : and on the good effects of intercrossing / by Charles Darwin.
  • On the various contrivances by which British and foreign orchids are fertilised by insects : and on the good effects of intercrossing / by Charles Darwin.
  • On the various contrivances by which British and foreign orchids are fertilised by insects : and on the good effects of intercrossing / by Charles Darwin.
  • On the various contrivances by which British and foreign orchids are fertilised by insects : and on the good effects of intercrossing / by Charles Darwin.
  • Dactylorhiza aff fuchsii Druce ex Soo Orchidaceae Common Spotted orchid. Distribution: Ireland to Mongolia. Roots look like a hand. Coles (1657) calls them Palma Christi sive [or] Satyrion (to distinguish it from Ricinus communis which he calls Palma Christi sive Ricinus. This plant is probably his Female Satyrion and another Dactylorhiza, probably one of the English Marsh orchids, is his Male Satyrion Royal, with purple flowers. In common with Orchis he writes 'The full and plump roots of the Satyrium or Orchis, whereof the Electuary Diasatyrium is made, are of mighty efficacy to provoke to venery, which they that have bulbous roots [meaning the testicle shaped roots of Orchis] do by Signature.'. Terrestrial orchids continue, to be harvested by the millions annually in the Middle East for the production of Salep, including Salep ice cream, because of their mythological aphrodisiacal property. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Orchid flower (Phalaenopsis sp.)
  • An orchid flower. Watercolour.
  • Orchid labellum (Phalaenopsis sp.)
  • Dactylorhiza foliosa (Rchb.f.)Soo Orchidaceae Distribution: Madeira. Roots look like a hand and Coles (1657) calls them Palma Christi sive [or] Satyrion (to distinguish it from Ricinus communis which he calls Palma Christi sive Ricinus. This plant would be the closest to his Male Satyrion Royal, with purple flowers (but this is likely to be one of the English Marsh orchids,, and Dactylorhiza fuchsii is his Female Satyrion. In common with Orchis he writes 'The full and plump roots of the Satyrium or Orchis, whereof the Electuary Diasatyrium is made, are of mighty efficacy to provoke to venery, which they that have bulbous roots [meaning the testicle shaped roots of Orchis] do by Signature.'. Terrestrial orchids continue to be harvested by the millions annually in the Middle East for the production of Salep, including Salep ice cream, because of their mythological aphrodisiacal property. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • An orchid (Habenaria species): flowering stem. Watercolour.
  • An orchid (Cattleya Boothiana): flowering stem. Watercolour.
  • An orchid (Cattleya Schofieldianum): flowering stem. Watercolour.
  • An orchid (Cattleya Duboysoniana): flowering stem. Watercolour.
  • An orchid (?Laelia anceps): flowering stem. Watercolour.
  • Orchid aerial root (Phalaenopsis sp.), transverse section
  • An orchid (Phaius albus): flowering stem. Coloured lithograph.
  • An orchid: flowering stem in three sections. Watercolour.
  • Open stoma on an orchid leaf (Phalaenopsis sp.)
  • Open stoma on an orchid leaf (Phalaenopsis sp.)
  • An orchid (Dendrobium thyrsiflorum): flowering stem. Watercolour, 1899.
  • An orchid (Dendrobium Dalhausianum): flowering stem. Watercolour, 1899.
  • An orchid (Cattleya Eldorado): flower only. Watercolour, 1899.
  • An orchid (Cattleya gigas Sauderiana): flowering stem. Watercolour.
  • A lady's slipper orchid (Cypripedium Sedeni): flowering stem. Watercolour.
  • A lady's slipper orchid (Cypripedium Stoneii): flowering stem. Watercolour.
  • An orchid (Rodgersia species): flowers and leaves. Watercolour, 1899.
  • An orchid (Cattleya mossiae): flower and leaf. Watercolour, 1899.
  • An orchid (Laelia anceps): flowering stem and leaves. Watercolour.