Like Moths to a Flame

This weekend, my local orchid society hosted a small show at the local botanical gardens.  Included in my exhibit were several angraecoids--among them a beautiful Angraecum sesquipedale. By mere chance, there were two small, blooming sized plants of the same species availabe on the sales table.  These two plants were in such high demand that they had to be quasi-raffled to keep the people from fighting over them.  (Raffled in the sense that if your name was drawn you had the "honor" of paying for the plant.  :) )

Watching everyone so intrigued by this species of course made me think of the hundreds of people who have been fascinated by this orchid for centuries. Everyone has heard of Darwin's orchid, and the prediction he made that there must be a moth with a sufficiently long tongue to pollinate the flower.  This was, of course, sesquipedale, and there is just such a moth.  Even those who have no particular interest in botany or evolution are attracted to the shape and substance of this flower. 

So, if this weekend is any proof, people are still drawn to this species like moths to a flame -- or perhaps more accurately like moths to an Angraecum sesquipedale.