''Cephalanthera rubra'', known as red helleborine,
is an
orchid
Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant.
Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...
found in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
,
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
and southwest
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
. Although reasonably common in parts of its range, this
Cephalanthera
''Cephalanthera'', abbreviated Ceph in horticultural trade, is a genus of mostly terrestrial orchids. Members of this genus have rhizomes rather than tubers. About 15 species are currently recognized, most of them native to Europe and Asia. The o ...
has always been one of the rarest orchids in
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
.
Description
Each flowering shoots reach 20–70 cm height. The shoots grow from a creeping rhizome. The stem is smooth at the base and densely covered with short glandular hairs higher up. The shoots have between 2 and 8 lanceolate leaves which range in size from 5 to 14 cm long and from 1 to 3 cm wide. Each shoot may carry up to 20 flowers, which may be pink to red or rarely white. They are up to 5 cm wide. The petals are curved and lanceolate. Flowers are produced from May to July. It is known to sometimes go many years without flowering. Chromosomes 2n=36
Not to be confused with ''
Epipactis atrorubens
''Epipactis atrorubens'', the dark-red helleborine or royal helleborine, is an herbaceous plant in the orchid family, Orchidaceae.
As with many other species of orchids, the species is legally protected in some countries. Plantlife designated the ...
'' (dark red helleborine).
Distribution and habitat
The red helleborine is found throughout most of
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, east to the
Urals
The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through European ...
and as far as 60 degrees north. It is however rare in
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
, the
Low Countries
The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
and western
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. It also occurs in
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
,
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
and
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
and in various parts of southern
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
as far east as
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
.
[Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families](_blank)
/ref>
Found in light, dry forest, particularly among beech
Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...
trees, pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
s and spruces
A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfa ...
. grows to an altitude of , especially on calcareous soils with a pH between 5.9–8.2. Flower colour is an indicator of the soil qualities, with darker blooms on more calcareous ground.
Red helleborine is a very rare plant in Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
. It is found only at the following sites:
* Workman's Wood, Sheepscombe
Sheepscombe is a small village in the English county of Gloucestershire. Sheepscombe is located some south-east of the city of Gloucester, north-east of the town of Stroud, and east of the village of Painswick. It lies in a narrow valley, h ...
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
[Species distribution map for Cephalanthera rubra](_blank)
, NBN Gateway
NBN or nbn may refer to:
Broadcasting networks
* National Black Network, US radio network
* National Broadcasting Network (Lebanon)
* National Broadcasting Network (Trinidad and Tobago)
* Nagoya Broadcasting Network, Japan
* Nanjing Broadcastin ...
, retrieved 25 February 2010
* Hawkley Warren
__NOTOC__
Hawkley Warren () is a woodland on the northeast-facing Wealden Edge, near the village of Hawkley, three miles north of Petersfield in Hampshire. The site is situated in a deep chalk combe.
The site is owned by Hampshire County Council ...
, Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
, where it was first found in 1986.
* Windsor Hill SSSI
Windsor Hill is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Princes Risborough in Buckinghamshire. It lies within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and it is featured in the Nature Conservation Review. A small part is m ...
, a woodland just to the east of Princes Risborough
Princes Risborough () is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England, about south of Aylesbury and north west of High Wycombe. It lies at the foot of the Chiltern Hills, at the north end of a gap or pass through the Chilterns, the south end ...
in the Chilterns, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the species was recorded from single sites in Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
, Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
and Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, and a second Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
site (in the upper Test Valley
Test Valley is a local government district and borough in Hampshire, England, named after the valley of the River Test. Its council is based in Andover.
The borough was formed on 1 April 1974 by a merger of the boroughs of Andover and Romsey, a ...
). The species was also recorded at additional Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
sites (including Stanley Wood, King's Stanley
King's Stanley is a village in Gloucestershire, England, situated southwest of the town of Stroud. The village is part of what is known locally as 'The Stanleys', along with its neighbours Leonard Stanley and Stanley Downton. Marling Close, whic ...
, now a Woodland Trust
The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the United Kingdom and is concerned with the creation, protection, and restoration of native woodland Natural heritage, heritage. It has planted over 50 million trees since 1972 ...
woodland), and persisted at some of these into the 1970s. It became a protected species in the UK in 1975 under the Conservation of Wild Creatures and Wild Plants Act.
Ecology
''Cephalanthera rubra'' is thought to be mainly pollinated by flies
Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...
, although often self-pollination is triggered by rainfall.[Beobachtung von Miarus campanulae als Bestäuber von Cephalanthera rubra](_blank)
/ref> Pollination may also be carried out by ''Chelostoma
''Chelostoma'' is a genus of bees in the Osmiini tribe of the family Megachilidae. The genus is divided into 5 subgenera with at least 60 described species.
Species
These 60 species belong to the genus ''Chelostoma'':
* '' Chelostoma aegaeicu ...
'' bee ('' Chelostoma campanularum''?) and the weevil
Weevils are beetles belonging to the Taxonomic rank, superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than in length, and Herbivore, herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They b ...
'' Miarus campanulae'', both of which are thought to mistake the flowers for ''Campanula persicifolia
''Campanula persicifolia'', the peach-leaved bellflower, is a flowering plant species in the family Campanulaceae. It is an herbaceous perennial growing to . Its flowers are cup-shaped and can be either lilac-blue or white.Susan Carter, Carrie B ...
'', a wildflower found on mountains in continental Europe. It is theorised that ''C. rubra'' mimics ''C. persicifolia'' to increase pollination early in the year.
As the flowers are frequently visited by flies, crab spiders
The Thomisidae are a family of spiders, including about 170 genera and over 2,100 species. The common name crab spider is often linked to species in this family, but is also applied loosely to many other families of spiders. Many members of th ...
have been observed hunting in them.
''C. rubra'' forms a mycorrhizal
A mycorrhiza (from Greek μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. mycorrhizae, mycorrhiza or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plan ...
relationship with species in the genera ''Leptodontidium
''Leptodontidium'' is a genus of fungi
A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms a ...
'', ''Phialophora
''Phialophora'' is a form genus of fungus with short conidiophores, sometimes reduced to phialides; their conidia are unicellular. They may be parasites (including on humans), or saprophytic (including on apples).
Genetic analysis of ''Phialop ...
'' and ''Tomentella
''Tomentella'' is a genus of corticioid fungi in the family Thelephoraceae. The genus is ectomycorrhizal, and widespread, with about 80 species according to a 2008 estimate, although many new species have since been described. ''Tomentella'' was ...
''. This enables it to access soil nutrients which would otherwise be unavailable.
Etymology
''Cephalanthera
''Cephalanthera'', abbreviated Ceph in horticultural trade, is a genus of mostly terrestrial orchids. Members of this genus have rhizomes rather than tubers. About 15 species are currently recognized, most of them native to Europe and Asia. The o ...
'' comes from the Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
κεφαλή ανθηρός, meaning "head flowering", thought to be a reference to the protruding position of the anthers
The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...
. The species epithet ''rubra'' comes from the Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
for red, referring to the colour of the flowers. The Latin binomial was chosen by a French botanist named Professor Louis Claude Marie Richard
Louis Claude Marie Richard (19 September 1754 – 6 June 1821) was a French botanist and botanical illustrator.
Richard was born at Versailles. Between 1781 and 1789 he collected botanical specimens in Central America and the West Indies. On his r ...
.
"Helleborine" may refer to deer using the orchid for food (many conservationists have noted that helleborine orchids are grazed by deer ). Alternatively it may denote that the plants are similar to hellebores
Commonly known as hellebores (), the Eurasian genus ''Helleborus'' consists of approximately 20 species of herbaceous or evergreen perennial flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae, within which it gave its name to the tribe of Helleboreae. ...
(a group of species in the family Ranunculaceae
Ranunculaceae (buttercup or crowfoot family; Latin "little frog", from "frog") is a family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide.
The largest genera are ''Ranunculus'' (600 species), ''Delphinium' ...
). "Hellebore" comes from the Greek "álkē" and "bora", translating as "fawn" and "food of beasts".Dictionary.com
/ref>
In German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
, ''Cephalanthera'' are referred to as Waldvöglein, meaning little birds of the wood, a reference to the winged appearance of the flowers.
References
External links
Species page from Britain's Orchids
Images of Red Helleborine from ARKive
Distribution map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cephalanthera rubra
rubra
Orchids of Europe
Flora of North Africa
Plants described in 1767