Gymnadenia

Gymnadenia
Fragrant Orchid
Gymnadenia conopsea
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Orchideae
Subtribe: Orchidinae
Genus: Gymnadenia
R.Br.
Species

See text.

Gymnadenia is a genus in the orchid family (Orchidaceae) containing 22 terrestrial species.

They can be found in damp meadows, fens and marshes, and on chalk or limestone, often in alpine regions of Europe and Asia up to the Himalayas. The Fragrant Orchid (Gymnadenia conopsea) has been introduced into the USA.

These hardy terrestrial orchids are deciduous. They survive the winter through their corms, two deep-cut tubers (more like tuberous roots). Long lanceolate green leaves grow at the bottom of the stem. There are some small leaves at the stop of the stem.

They flower during the summer. The inflorescence is a dense cylindrical spike between 5 and 30 cm long. It can consists of up to 150 small pleasant-smelling flowers. Their color can vary from pale purple to pink and white. The lip is wide with three lobes. The marginal petals are horizontal. There is a long, thin, threadlike spur.

Several species were formerly classified under Nigritella. The nothogeneric name ×Gymnigritella was used for hybrids between these two groups.

Contents

Species

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Formerly in Nigritella.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Formerly in ×Gymnigritella.

See also

References

Delforge, P. 1998. Contribution taxonomique et nomenclaturale au genre Gymnadenia (Orchidaceae). (Nomenclatural and taxonomical contribution to the genus Gymnadenia (Orchidaceae). Nat. Belg. 79(4): 251-256.