Neomarica 'crystals'
David Ehrlich (Wed, 20 Oct 2010 17:50:31 PDT)

A good magnifying glass should show them off.  These glandular hars are on the
barred portion of the outer tepals and on the edges and folds of the geniculate
tepals.  Looking at my old photos at high magnification, these hairs appear to
have droplets of nectar at their tips, but this may just be the result of their
shape and the light.

David E.

________________________________
From: "mhach@ix.netcom.com" <mhach@ix.netcom.com>
To: pbs@lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: Wed, October 20, 2010 12:45:37 PM
Subject: [pbs] Neomarica 'crystals'

Dear Bulbophiles -

I believe what Helen is referring to as 'crystals' are the hairs found on the
flowers of the species. When examined closely the hairs are barely visible to
the naked eye. Depending on how the light hits them they can either give a
velvet appearence or refract light causing the flower to sparkle - like it is
dusted with crystals.I have only examined a few species under magnification and
can't verify that all the species have these hairs.

Marc
NJ USA