Each plant species tends to grow in a particular altitudinal range. Many of them won’t survive the varying climatic conditions of altitudinal differences. However, certain orchid species have evolved to a great extent to widen their populations to multitude of altitudinal ranges – from the tropical to the subalpine/alpine zone.
For example, the Crepidium sp. presented here, has a varying altitudinal range from almost 300 ft to 9800 ft MSL. But the main objective they face is to find the right pollinator, as the life cycle of many insects (the main pollinators of orchids) depend upon many factors including the altitudinal range of their existence. Not all insects can survive in varying altitudinal ranges.
To overcome this challenge, the evolutionary mechanism in orchids developed techniques to change the colouration of its flowers along the altitudinal range to attract pollinators of their habitats with ease.
Post 28 – 11/November/2020