Wealth of orchid varieties is down to busy bees and helpful fungi, says study
Monday, January 31, 2011 - 13:50
in Biology & Nature
Scientists have discovered why orchids are one of the most successful groups of flowering plants - it is all down to their relationships with the bees that pollinate them and the fungi that nourish them. The study, published tomorrow in the American Naturalist, is the culmination of a ten-year research project in South Africa involving researchers from Imperial College London, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and other international institutions.