Does size matter?

[Vertigo]

Another thought for today, does the size of the spur aid pings in any way?

I've seen a bunch of pictures of pings that i'm growing that have spurs that look almost inches longer than the ones on my flowers.

 

[Vic Brown]

The length of the spur varies enormously between the different mexican Ping species, some like P. laueana and P. hemiepiphytica, for example, have very long spurs. Presumably, the long-spurred Pings are pollinated by long-tongued insects such as certain moths, or by hummingbirds (the red colour of P. laueana also suggests hummingbird pollination).

P. hemiepiphytica

One reason that spur length is so variable, along with flower colour and pattern, is that it probably prevents these species from sharing pollinators between each other, a fact born out by the rarity of natural hybrids, particularly as most species readily hybridise with each other, when performed manually in cultivation.

Vic

 

[Vertigo]

I guess it's safe to assume that growing conditions could also effect this.

I've noticed on many many pictures that the spur on my P. 'Aphrodite' looks much shorter than the others i've compared it to.

 

[Darcie]

Topic Funny. I have no clue about it, but topic funny.