Family |
Orchidaceae
Epipactis palustris
(L.) Crantz
Epipactis palustris (L.) Crantz
(First published in Stirp. Austr. Fasc. ed. 2, 2: 463, 1769)
• Life-form & habit: Robust perennial orchid, stems 30–80 cm tall, leafy throughout.
• Leaves: Spirally arranged, pleated, oblong-ovate to oblong-lanceolate, 5–15 × 2–4 cm, acute, concave above.
• Inflorescence & flowers: One-sided raceme with 3–5 flowers, each 2–2.5 cm across; flowers creamy-white to pure white, often with violet-red or brown streaks. Labellum with a cup-shaped basal half bearing two erect triangular lobes; distal half broadly elliptical, rounded or truncate. Flowers scentless.
• Fruits: Egg-shaped capsules with numerous dust-like seeds, dependent on fungal symbionts for germination.
• Phenology: Flowers July–August in Lebanon.
• Habitat & elevation: Moist woodland near streams, sandstone terrain; at 1210 m in Lebanon. Elsewhere in Europe and Asia, found in fens, damp meadows, wet woodlands, and ditches.
• Lebanese distribution: Baskinta.
• Native range: Widespread in Europe and Central Asia; southern limit in Lebanon, isolated by >500 km from nearest Turkish populations.
• Conservation notes: Globally Least Concern (IUCN), but in Lebanon the Baskinta micropopulation is extremely threatened (Critically Endangered at national level). Threats include urban expansion and habitat alteration. Protection as a plant micro-reserve is urgently recommended.