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After pollination, flowers wither, ovaries swell becoming a dry capsule from where thousands of seeds escape by longitudinal slits.

Clones

As many of other plants, some wild French orchid species can reproduce through a vegetative way creating genetically identical individuals either from their tubers (some Orchis and Serapias ), from their rhizomes (Cypripedium, Cephalantera, Epipactis and Epipogium), from stolons (Goodyera repens) or, in the unique event of Hammarbya paludosa, from bulbils located on the leaves .



Orchids and fungi

However, the most common way to reproduce is the sexual reproduction. Pollination happens when grains of pollen, released from pollinias, get in contact with the stigmatic area in the female part of the flower. Genetic material is then transferred, inducing ovule maturation, that can be detected by the swelling of the ovary that will become a capsule. Flowers wither, then thousands of seeds having reached maturity, escape from the slit capsule.
Orchids seeds are very tiny and devoid of nutritive substances. To germinate, seeds must find microscopic fungi that penetrate into the root to form a mycorrhizal association. Such a symbiotic relationship, providing the host with the necessary nutrients, is required by all orchids at the germination phase.

Orchids and insects

For most of flowering plants, insects ensure pollen transfer from one flower to another (entomogamy). Pollinias of most orchids include at their basement viscous masses called viscidium. When a pollinator hits pollinias, they strongly stick to it. Then, when visiting another flower, the vector insect carries pollinias and pollen grains get a chance to be in contact with the host stigma so as the fecundation process could start. Consequently, it clearly appears that the orchid ability to attract pollinator insects will determine the species survival. In addition, if the pollinator specifically visits flowers of the same species, reproduction should even be more efficient.

The first attraction strategy used by orchids, as well as by many other flowering plants, consist in offering nutrients to insects, in the form of nectar, or other nutritive substances appreciated by insects. However, as much as efficient it is, this strategy does not allow a great specificity. Some species of genera Neottia or Epipactis emit specific smells reinforcing attraction of their baits. Some orchids as Serapias or Dactylorhiza, which have helmet-shaped flowers attract insects by offering them a shelter to spend the night.

Another method, more sophisticated, consists in imitating the appearance of other flowers producing nectar. Insects attempt to take nectar in vane but even so they are lead to carry away pollinias and trigger fecundation in other flowers. This mimicry avoid the plant to make nectar thus they save the corresponding energy. This artifice is used, for example, by Orchis pallens, Orchis mascula or some Dactylorhiza that resemble the nectar producing flowers of Labiate or Fabaceae.