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May 17th /62/ Leith Hill Place (4) Bird's nest orchis

2 lower sepals & 1 upper sepal & 2 upper petals form a hood - Labellum with a small cup at base, not reflexed even at right angles - The divided & divergent segments at end allow passage early into flower - So that flower already partly tubular - At early period pollen granular & some generally left behind or not cleanly removed - These loose grains have no elastic threads; yet brush does not well remove; yet I think must come into play by insects body. I much suspect spontaneously explodes

Rostellum curves down at exploding & straighten itself afterwards

over

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The lowest flower on spike often has stigma foliaceous & monstrous

I have strongest belief that flower fertilises itself, by pollen falling on to its own stigma. Yesterday I exploded 2 Rostellum without withdrawing pollinia; the rostellum then bent over & drew out pollinia, & now that it has almost returned to upward position, could not force pollen under anther again, from being so pulverulent; hence some fell once on extreme edges of stigma & a multitude of pollen-tubes had penetrated the stigma on both extreme edges!!! If self-explodes will fertilise itself!!!

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Birds nest May 21 62 Leith Hill

Covered up a plant with Bell-glass on Saturday now exactly 4 days - Rostellum of all flowers then snow white, deeply concave to receive pollen perched on summit, & slightly [overarching] the bilobed stigma - Now these flowers (& some which were then barely opened on Saturday have rostellum quite straight & brownish within & are only capable of very feeble explosion - So they do not explode spontaneously but become have in 3 or 4 days this power of explosion. In all these flowers pollen had dropped on corners of stigma. Moreover in some every single grain of pollen had been removed out of anther & were scattered, as if by a duster, over all petals & sepals & column & stigma by minute wingless insect; I believe Thrips, which I saw dusted with pollen; so even here

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must aid in self fertilisation. Various parts of Rostellum explode. The middle of crest of membrane of rostellum towards the side of anther, produced into about 6 excessively minute rough points – perhaps corresponding to those of Listera cordata - These points apparently very sensitive; but the side of crest of Rostellum also explode if touched.