Curtis Botanical – Plate 5941 – Yellow Bee Orchid

Original antique black-and-white print from Curtis's Botanical Magazine — Plate 5941. One of the most extraordinary flowers in the world — a Mediterranean orchid whose lip has evolved to look, feel, and smell exactly like a female solitary bee. Male bees attempt to mate with it (a process called pseudocopulation), picking up pollen in the process. Mediterranean heritage — Spanish, French, Italian, Greek, Turkish, North African customers. Uncolored plate. Condition consistent with age of volume. Each print is a unique piece of botanical history, printed on paper aged over a century. This plate originated with the Royal Horticultural Society and passed through Wheldon & Wesley, one of the great natural history dealers of the 20th century. We came into the archive by accident and have spent the time since trying to share it as widely as we can.