The genus Cyrtopodium comprises about 42 species distributed from southern Florida to northern Argentina. Cyrtopodium polyphyllum occurs on rocks or in sandy soils, in restinga vegetation along the Brazilian coast. It flowers during the wet season and its inflorescences produce a high number of resupinate yellow flowers. Cyrtopodium polyphyllum offers no rewards to its pollinators, but mimics the yellow, reward-producing flowers of nearby growing Stigmaphyllon arenicola (oil) and Crotalaria vitellina (nectar) individuals. Several species of bee visit flowers of C. polyphyllum, but only two species of Centris (Centris tarsata and Centris labrosa) act as pollinators. Visits to flowers of C. polyphyllum were scarce and, as a consequence, low-fruit set was recorded under natural conditions. Such low-fruit production contrasts with the number of fruits each plant bears after manual pollination, suggesting deficient pollen transfer among plants. C. polyphyllum is self-compatible and has a high-fruit set in both manual self- and cross-pollinated flowers. Furthermore, fruits (2%) are formed by self-pollination assisted by rain. This facultative self-pollination mechanism is an important strategy to provide reproductive assurance to C. polyphyllum as rainfall restricts the foraging activity of its pollinating bees. Fruits derived from treatments and under natural conditions had a similar high rate of potentially viable seed. Moreover, these seeds had a low polyembryony rate, which did not exceed 5%. C. polyphyllum acts by deceit involving optical signals and exploits other yellow-flowered species within its habitat by attracting their pollinators. The low capsule production under natural conditions was expected, but its reproductive success is assured through self-pollination by rain and high seed viability.

Grobya amherstiae flowers release a honey-like scent produced by an osmophore, comprising a papillate epidermis. The scent attracts bee pollinators (Paratetrapedia fervida), which collect floral oils produced by elaiophores on the lip apex and column base. The secretory tissue of the elaiophore on the lip apex consists of both palisade-like epidermal cells and conspicuously elongated unicellular trichomes. From an anatomical point of view, this elaiophore differs in structure from those known in angiosperms to date. The elaiophore on the column base is exclusively composed of short unicellular trichomes. In addition, there is an elaiophore comprising a papillate epidermis on the internal surface of the lip. The elaiophores produce a heterogeneous secretion, composed of fatty acids and mucilage. The elaiophore on the internal surface of the lip produces oil in non-collectible amounts, but it is enough to maintain the interest of the bees, guiding them to the elaiophore on the column base, a necessary step in pollination. The former elaiophore is here identified as an oil guide and it plays an essential role in ensuring pollination. The presence of three types of elaiophores on the flowers of this species of Orchidaceae is peculiar and noteworthy.

Vanilloideae comprises 15 genera distributed worldwide, among which are Vanilla and Epistephium (tribe Vanilleae). Based on field and laboratory investigations, the pollination biology of V. dubia and E. sclerophyllum was analysed. The former was surveyed in a semi-deciduous mesophytic forest at the biological reserve of Serra do Japi and in a marshy forest at the city of Pradópolis, southeastern Brazil. The latter was examined in rocky outcrop vegetation in the Chapada Diamantina, northeastern Brazil. In the studied populations, the tubular flowers of V. dubia and E. sclerophyllum were pollinated by bees. Pollen was deposited on either their scutellum (V. dubia) or scutum (E. sclerophyllum). The mentum region of V. dubia is dry, whereas that of E. sclerophyllum presents a small quantity of dilute nectar. Flowers of E. sclerophyllum are scentless, while those of V. dubia are odoriferous. Although V. dubia is self-compatible, it needs a pollinator to produce fruit. In contrast, E. sclerophyllum sets fruit through spontaneous self-pollination, but biotic pollination also occurs. Both species are primarily adapted to pollination by euglossine bees. Pollination by Euglossina seems to have occurred at least twice during the evolution of Vanilleae. Furthermore, shifts between rewarding and reward-free flowers and between autogamous and allogamous species have been reported among vanillas.

The reproductive biology, reward production and pollination mechanism of Trichocentrum pumilum were studied in a gallery forest in the interior of the State of São Paulo, southeast Brazil. The floral visitors and pollination mechanism were recorded, and experimental pollinations were carried out in order to determine the breeding system of this species. Trichocentrum pumilum blooms in spring. Each paniculate inflorescence bears an average of 85 flowers that present a central yellow callus and finger-like trichomes on the lateral lobes of the lip. A lipoidal substance is produced and stored among these trichomes. In the studied population, T. pumilum is exclusively visited and pollinated by two bee species (Tetrapedia diversipes and Lophopedia nigrispinis). Pollinaria are deposited on mouthparts of bees during collection of the lipoidal substance from the lateral lobes of the labellum. Trichocentrum pumilum is self-incompatible and pollinator-limited. Natural fruit set was low (9%, compared to 45% in experimentally cross-pollinated flowers). Potentially viable seed exceed 97% in fruits obtained through cross-pollination and in natural conditions (open pollination).

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Geographical variation in the reproductive biology of widespread species often occurs at their distributional boundaries. We sought to determine whether such variation has occurred in an invasive orchid, Oeceoclades maculata, across its naturalized range. We compared its reproductive biology in a Brazilian population with that published for a population on the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. In the state of São Paulo, O. maculata flowers between December and February, at the height of the rainy season. Similar fruit sets were observed in manual self (76%) and cross (70.4%) pollination treatments. The fruit set of plants protected from both pollinators and rainfall was 6.1%, whereas plants exposed only to rainfall had a fruit set of 41.4%, slightly less than the controls (48.3%). Like the Puerto Rico population, reproduction is primarily through rain-assisted autogamy, but unlike observations made on the island, outcrossing can eventually occur. We observed two butterfly species (Heliconius ethilla narcaea and Heliconius erato phyllis) pollinating O. maculata. Secretory epidermal cells and trichomes of the spur lumen produced 0.7 mL of 25% (sucrose equivalents) nectar per flower each morning, which was stored in a dilated basal portion of the spur and reabsorbed by the afternoon. Thus, geographical variation in reproductive biology exists across the broad invasive range of O. maculata.

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Crane flies and microlepidoptera have been recorded as pollinators in unrelated orchid groups, but these insects have never been recorded in Epidendroideae, the most species‐rich orchid subfamily, which includes one of the most diverse genera among Orchidaceae, Epidendrum. Based on data on phenology, floral morpho‐anatomy, pollinators, pollination mechanisms and breeding system, the reproductive biology of E. avicula was studied in south‐eastern Brazil. Epidendrum avicula possess osmophores that produce a citric fragrance at night. The flowers attract Tipulidae flies and several families of microlepidoptera that drink the nectar produced in a tube formed by the adnation of the labellum and column. As is common in Epidendrum, after removing the pollinarium, both crane flies and micro‐moths get trapped by the proboscis, which frightens the insects and inhibits any possible intent to immediately visit another flower. The behavior of the pollinators on flowers, plus the retention of the anther cap by the pollinarium, results in a reduction in the occurrence of geitonogamy. Because E. avicula is self‐incompatible, the consequence of pollinator behavior and the floral mechanisms tend to reduce the pollen loss. As far as we know, this is the first study to report the reproductive biology of a species of Epidendroideae pollinated by crane flies and microlepidoptera. Based on more recent concepts of plant–pollinator interactions, although E. avicula is pollinated by several species belonging to two distinct orders, suggesting an unspecialized pollination system is involved, nectar‐seeking microlepidoptera and Tipulidae flies can be recognized as a single functional group.