2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Pale orchis (Latin Orchis pallens) - a herbaceous perennial plant from the genus Orchis (Latin Orchis), ranked by botanists in the Orchid family (Latin Orchidaceae). The plant is less and less common in the wild, and therefore fell into the Red Data Books of a number of territories. But, getting into the Red Book does not mean “to be saved” from extinction. Therefore, lovers of terrestrial orchids are trying to grow Orchis pale in their flower beds in order to prolong its presence on the planet.
What's in your name
Egg tubers gave rise to the Latin name of the genus "Orchis", which is based on the Greek word meaning "egg" in Russian.
The species epithet "pallens", which in Latin means "pale", the plant owes to the pallor of the color of the flower petals, which are pale yellow or yellowish green. A distinctive feature of this species is the absence on a yellowish background of flower petals, more precisely, a flower lip, of brighter traces left by fabulous elves in the form of bright specks or small stripes.
First described in 1771 in Switzerland, this species lived for a long time under the name "Orchis sulphurea", which was more consistent with the appearance of flowers, which were dominated by yellow color, the color of the chemical element "sulfur" (Latin sulfur, hence the "sulphurea"). The specific epithet "pallens" notes only the pallor of color, but such a description of the plant underestimates its overall attractiveness, which significantly distinguishes this orchid from other species of the genus.
Description
Egg tubers are the guarantor of the perenniality of the herbaceous orchis pallidum. The dimensions of the tubers are small and reach a length of two and a half centimeters with a width of up to one and a half centimeters.
A plant from fifteen to forty centimeters in height consists of a basal low-expanding rosette of leaves, the number of which varies from three to five, and a peduncle stem. An oblong leaf blade of obovate shape with a blunt apex and a narrowed base has a monochromatic green color, not burdened with spots or strokes, as happens in other species of the genus, which is one of the hallmarks of Orchis pallidum. The leaves are thick, juicy and shiny.
The top of the peduncle stem is crowned with a spike-shaped multi-flowered inflorescence from three and a half to seven centimeters long. The yellowish lanceolate bracts are lost amid the monotony of the inflorescence of densely spaced flowers. The typical shape of orchid flowers has a three-lobed lip of a brighter yellow color than the rest of the petals, and a blunt cylindrical spur curved downward.
The surface of the lip of Orchis pallida has the smallest papillae, but is completely devoid of markings, which makes this species of the genus easily distinguishable from species such as Orchis pauciflora and Orchis provincialis, which have a similar color of flower petals, complemented by bright strokes or dots in the central part of the lip …
Interestingly, the fragrant orchid flowers, the smell of which resembles the scent of Black Elderberry, do not produce nectar, but are pollinated by bees. The fact is that the shape of the flowers is somewhat reminiscent of the shape of the flowers of the Spring Chiny (lat. Lathyrus vernus) from the legume family, which is a wonderful honey plant. This is how nature sometimes tricks to prolong the life of plants.
Spread range
Although the range of distribution of Orchis palea is very significant, covering the most significant European mountain ranges, the Caucasus, Crimea (mountainous middle belt of the peninsula), the ridge of the Krasnodar Territory, the plant is not found in the wild very often, needing to protect people from complete extinction from the face of the Earth.
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