A Like the Detroit car manufacturers of the 1960s and their vehicles, evolution has added embellishments and adornments to orchids that appear to serve no purpose except the expression of beauty and style.
B Orchids live in every habitat on Earth except glaciers, which is not to say they cannot tolerate cold—they have been seen to grow north of the Arctic Circle and on some sub-Antarctic islands—but the tropics are where they have evolved most spectacularly.
C To the astonishment of him, it’s been found living only on gorse, a species of hardy shrub introduced to New Zealand from Europe. He believes this is important because, for decades, work to protect the environment in New Zealand has focussed on destroying all such introduced species in order to protect native flora. But if the orchid is eventually recognised as a new species that lives on gorse, it will suggest that this policy has been misguided.
D After insects evolved winged flight around 330 million years ago, flowers everywhere have used them to carry pollen between males and females in order to continue their species.
Questions
1. a comparison between orchids and a man-made product
2. the possibility that one long-term approach to conservation in New Zealand may be inappropriate
3. some exceptions to the rule that orchids prefer warm climates
4. an outline of how plants such as orchids reproduce