Coryanthes macrantha

Native from Trinidad through tropical South America, it is an orchid that grows on trees in humid forests. Its ribbed pseudobulbs bear two long, lance-shaped leaves. Hanging flower stalks arise at the bases of the pseudobulbs. The large, fragrant flowers have pale yellow to cream sepals and petals marked with reddish-brown spots. Their fleshy lip has a hoodlike upper part, a ridged connecting section and a deep, bucket-shaped basin.

Male orchid bees visit to collect fragrance compounds. Two glands on the flower column drip watery secretions into the basin. Bees that fall inside leave through a narrow exit beside the column, where pollen packets attach to their backs or are transferred to the stigma during a later visit. Photographed in Florida.