A genus of tropical orchids known for their unusual flower mechanisms that can forcefully eject pollen when triggered by an insect's movement.
From Greek 'kata' (down) + 'seta' (bristle), referring to the bristle-like structures. Carl Linnaeus named this genus in the 18th century to describe these mechanically sophisticated flowers.
Darwin was absolutely fascinated by Catasetum orchids because they seemed to prove his theory of evolution—these flowers were so precisely engineered to exploit specific insects that they could only exist if refined over millions of years.
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