2019-02-14

[public] 513K views, 16.2K likes, dislikes audio only

TED-Ed

Check out the fascinating ways orchids trick insects into pollinating, using sexual deception, pheromones and mimicking the shapes of other plants.

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Nearly 28,000 species of orchid grow all around the world, bearing every imaginable color, shape and pattern. There’s a cunning purpose behind these elaborate displays: many orchids trick insects into pollinating, sometimes even into having sex with them. How do they deploy these deceptive tactics? Anne Gaskett dives into the surprisingly complex ways orchids attract insects.

Lesson by Anne Gaskett, directed by Mette Ilene Holmriis.

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View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-sexual-deception-of-orchids-anne-gaskett

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