Do Orchids Produce Sugar?

Sucrose

• All plants, orchids included, produce the simple sugar glucose through photosynthesis and go on to produce a sugar called sucrose that is actually a combination of the simple sugars glucose and fructose. The sucrose is exported from cells in the orchid's leaves and travels through vessels in the stem reaching other parts of the orchid.

Nectar

• Flowers often make sugar available to animals in the form of nectar, a solution of sucrose, glucose and fructose. This rich syrup provides many small insects, such as bees, with the energy they need to survive and grow. Producing this nectar requires energy expenditure on the part of the plant, so the only reason plants continue producing it is because it helps ensure their own reproduction. Insects lured by the nectar accidentally take pollen with them when they travel to visit another flower.

Orchid Nectar

• According to National Geographic, close to a third of orchid species do not produce nectar in their flowers. They counterfeit the appearance nectar-bearing flowers, luring pollinators without actually feeding them. Many orchid species do produce nectar. Since there are some 25,000 orchid species, whether or not your plant secretes sugary nectar depends on the species.

Fun Fact

• Some orchids that do produce nectar have developed interesting relationships with specific pollinators. One example is the Angraecum sesquipedale species, which has an extraordinarily long nectar tube. In 1862, Charles Darwin predicted the existence of a long-tongued moth in this orchid's habitat as a result of coevolution between plant and pollinator. In 1903, one such moth was discovered in A. sesquipedale's natural habitat. Its tongue measures more than 8-1/2 inches long. This unusually long tongue enables it to access the nectar deep inside the orchid, unwittingly collecting pollen at the same time.