Family |
Orchidaceae
Epipactis helleborine subsp. tremolsii
(Pau) E.Klein
Epipactis helleborine (L.) Crantz subsp. tremolsii (Pau) E.Klein
≡ Epipactis tremolsii Pau
(First published under current name in Orchidee (Hamburg) 30: 49, 1979; not treated in Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie)
• Life-form & habit: Perennial terrestrial orchid, 20–80 cm tall, often more robust than typical subsp. helleborine. Rhizome creeping, producing leafy shoots.
• Leaves: Alternate, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, 5–15 cm long, acuminate, with 5–7 prominent parallel veins, slightly falcate, upper leaves smaller and bract-like.
• Inflorescence & flowers: Raceme 5–25 cm long, lax to moderately dense, 10–40 flowers. Flowers greenish with violet or purplish tinge; perianth segments spreading. Labellum bipartite: hypochile cup-shaped, whitish to green with a yellowish base; epichile broadly cordate, reflexed, often pinkish to purplish. Flowers non-resupinate or slightly resupinate.
• Fruits: Capsules ellipsoid, dehiscent, containing numerous dust-like seeds dependent on fungal symbionts for germination.
• Phenology: Flowers May–July, earlier than typical subsp. helleborine.
• Habitat & elevation: Prefers dry, sunny to half-shaded habitats: open woodlands, garrigue, scrub, and rocky slopes, often on calcareous soils; low to montane elevations.
• Distribution: Reported from southern Europe and the Mediterranean basin, extending into North Africa and the Middle East.
• Native range: Albania, Algeria, France, Greece, Italy, Lebanon–Syria, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey. (POWO)