In the second episode of Flowerotica we track the orchid, and a floral biology so precise that it can replicate female arousal at the molecular level. From ancient Greece to Victorian greenhouses, landing in a domestic garden in Melbourne, this is a flower that has been running the same naturally selective seduction for two hundred million years. Some flowers get into the chemistry.

Executive Producer, Writer & Host: Nina Ozier

Co-host and Episode Cover Artist: Jake Kaplan

Audio Producer & Sound Mixer: Elliot Terzian

Theme Music: Paul Oliphant

Episode References:

1. Schiestl et al. (1999): "Orchid pollination by sexual swindle," Nature
2. Schiestl et al. (2000): "Sex pheromone mimicry in the early spider orchid (Ophrys sphegodes)," Journal of Comparative Physiology A, Vol. 186
3. Edith Coleman (1927): original paper on pseudocopulation in Cryptostylis leptochila, republished by Edward Poulton in Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society, 1928
4. "Orchid Sexual Deceit Provokes Ejaculation," The American Naturalist, 2008
5. Brunton & Martin: "Orchid sexual deceit affects pollinator sperm transfer," Functional Ecology, 2020
6. British Herbal Guide (1653)
7. Oscar Wilde, A Woman of No Importance (1893)
8. Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief (1998)
9. Fred M. White, "The Purple Terror" (1896)