2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Comperia (Latin Comperia) - flower culture; monotypic genus belonging to the Orchid family (Latin Orchidaceae). The genus includes only one species - Comperia comperiana (Latin Comperia comperiana). Often the species is called the Crimean comperion. This aspect is associated with the natural range of the considered representative of the flora.
Under natural conditions, it can be found on the territory of the Crimea, more precisely in the southern regions. Plants are found in small numbers in Turkey and Iraq. Typical habitats are light deciduous forests, forest edges and clearings, as well as areas with calcareous soils.
Important feature
Comperia Comper is a rare guest of homestead and summer cottages. It is a relict species that is on the verge of extinction. It is worth noting that it has been preserved since the Tertiary period.
Today the plant is under protection in a nature reserve located in Yalta and other cities of Crimea. It is forbidden to pluck the comperii into bouquets, to dig up tubers and, moreover, to cut down the forest where such beautiful plants grow.
By the way, humanity is to a great extent to blame for the reduction in the number of plants. Many gardeners and florists dug up natural bulbs for the purpose of planting in their plots.
Some people collected plants for bouquets, although they cannot boast of resistance, in water their viability does not exceed 2-3 hours, after which they wither. The Comperia is currently listed in the International Trade Convention.
Characteristics of culture
Comperia Comper is represented by perennial herbaceous plants, reaching a height of 40-50 cm. They are characterized by small ovoid tubers. The stems, in turn, are thin, fragile, endowed with oblong, lanceolate, narrowed at the base foliage in the amount of 2-4 pieces.
The flowers are quite large, collected in loose, straight, racemose inflorescences that do not exceed 17-18 cm in length. As a rule, one inflorescence contains no more than 10 flowers, although in nature it is possible to capture specimens bearing more than 20 flowers.
The flowers are equipped with linear lanceolate bracts, pointed at the tips. They can be purple or greenish-white in color. The perianth is fused, has a toothed purple-brown "helmet", as well as a white-pink lip, endowed with small papillae and lobes of a triangular shape, which smoothly turn into thin tendril-like appendages. The latter are pale green, less often with a purple tint. Comperia bloom is observed in spring, usually in the second - third decade of May.
By the way, there are still disputes between scientists and botanists about the structure of the lip, in particular filamentous antennae-appendages. Some are sure that earlier tendril-like appendages were a kind of attachment of a plant to a support, for example, like in climbing ones. Others argue that this organ serves as bait for insects to pollinate flowers. Only one thing is known: since the Tertiary period, the structure of the antennae has changed, and now they do not bear any load.
