Alstroemeriaceae Plants in the
genus Alstroemeria have more or less resupinate leaves.
Orchidaceae The flower of a typical plant in the orchid
family Orchidaceae has three
sepals and three
petals. One petal, called the
labellum, "lip" or "tongue", is typically quite different from the other two. It usually functions to attract an insect pollinator. As an orchid flower bud develops, the attachment of the lip to the axis of the flower is above that of the other two petals. In many orchid
genera, as the flower opens, it twists so that the attachment of the "lip" is below that of the other two petals, the three sepals and the sexual parts of the flower known as the
column. Orchid flowers that undergo this twist are called "resupinate" – those that do not are "non-resupinate". Although
Charles Darwin did not use the term "resupination", he suggested that having the labellum on the lower part of the flower aids
pollination by providing a landing place for visiting insects. However, the
South American bee
Euglossa cordata pollinates both resupinate and non-resupinate orchid flowers. It has also been suggested that resupination exposes the labellum to sunlight, emphasizing patterns and nectar guides and increases the temperature and thus the vaporisation of floral scents. Three Australian genera with non-resupinate flowers are
Prasophyllum,
Cryptostylis and
Caleana. File:Diuris aequalis (labelled).jpg|Resupinate flower of
Diuris aequalis File:Prasophyllum (labelled 2).jpg|Non-resupinate flowers of
Prasophyllum elatum File:Cattleya_aclandiae_Orchi_01.jpg|Resupinate flowers of
Cattleya aclandiae File:Calopogon.web.jpg|Non-resupinate flowers of
Calopogon tuberosus File:Alstroemeria cv03.jpg|More or less resupinate leaves of
Alstroemeria File:Dicliptera cernua 1DS-II 1-7697.jpg|Resupinate flower of
Dicliptera cernua; note coralla tube twisted 180 degrees File:Hypoestes aristata 1DS-II 3-0719.jpg|Resupinate flower of
Hypoestes aristata; note coralla tube twisted 180 degrees ==Mycology==