Chalk Fragrant Orchid
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''Gymnadenia conopsea'', commonly known as the fragrant orchid or chalk fragrant orchid, is a herbaceous plant of the family Orchidaceae native to northern Europe.


Etymology

The name of the genus ''Gymnadenia'' is formed from Greek words (', "nude") and (', "gland") and refers to the characteristics of the organs for secreting nectar. The specific Latin name "conopsea" derives from the Greek ' ('), literally meaning "mosquito-like", probably because of the similarity of the long spur of the flower with the mouthparts of a mosquito. The scientific binomial name of this plant was initially ''Orchis conopsea'', proposed by the Swedish naturalist and botanist Carl von Linné (1707–1778) in his ' of 1753. The name has been subsequently amended to the one currently accepted (''Gymnadenia conopsea''), by the British botanist Robert Brown (1773–1858) in 1813. In German, this plant is called ' or '; in French, is called ' or '; in Italy, it is called ' ("pink hand"); in Croatian, it is known under '.


Description

''Gymnadenia conopsea'' reaches on average of height, with a maximum of . These plants are tuberous geophytes, as they bring their buds in underground tuber, organs that annually produce new stems, leaves and flowers. These orchids are " terrestrial" because unlike " epiphytic" species, they do not grow on other plants of major sizes. The stem is leafy and robust, with a striated surface. The
leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
are long, narrow and lanceolate and vary from 3 to 7. The leaf color is gray-green. Size of leaf: width 1 to 2 cm, length 10 – 25 cm. These orchids have two ovoidal bulbs, deeply webbed and with many small and short lobes. Size of tubers: 1 to 3.5 cm. The inflorescence is long and it is composed of flowers gathered in dense cylindrical spikes (up to 50 flowers per spike). These inflorescences are scented and genes underlying eugenol (a volatile scent compound) production have been identified in Gymnadenia conopsea, G. odoratissima and G. densiflora. The flowers are petiolated, placed in the axils of long bracts and reach on average . They have a distinctive three lobed lip and long spurs. Their light scent is similar to
cloves Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products, s ...
. Their colors vary from white and pink to pink-purple, more rarely white. These flowers bloom in the Summer, from June to July. They are
hermaphrodite In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrate ...
and pollinated by insects ( entomophily), including moths.


Ecology

The species is almost exclusively pollinated by moths (Lepidoptera). The most common pollinators are the small elephant hawk-moth ('' Deilephila porcellus''), hummingbird hawk-moth ('' Macroglossum stellatarum''), silver Y ('' Autographa gamma''), burnished brass ('' Diachrysia chrysitis'') and large yellow underwing ('' Noctua pronuba''). Fruit set is high with an average of 73%. The seed's germination is conditioned by the presence of mycorrhizal fungi. ''Gymnadenia conopsea'' is held to be a mycorrhizal generalist, able to form associations with a variety of different fungal species including species in the Tulasnellaceae, Ceratobasidiaceae and
Pezizales The Pezizales are an order of the subphylum Pezizomycotina within the phylum Ascomycota. The order contains 16 families, 199 genera, and 1683 species. It contains a number of species of economic importance, such as morels, the black and white tr ...
.


Distribution

This plant is quite common throughout
northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other g ...
with the exception of the Dinaric Alps. In Asia it is common in areas to the north of the Himalayas. ''Gymnadenia conopsea'' ssp. ''borealis'' has been recorded from Co. Donegal, Ireland in 2004.


Habitat

This species' habitat includes mountain meadows and pastures, grassland and fens. They grow on siliceous and calcareous substrate, mildly damp and with low nutritional value, at an altitude of above sea level.


Subspecies

* ''Gymnadenia conopsea'' subsp. ''conopsea'' * ''Gymnadenia conopsea'' subsp. ''montana'' Bisse


Synonyms

* ''Gymnadenia alpina'' (Turcz. ex Rchb.f.) Czerep. 1981 * ''Gymnadenia anisoloba'' Peterm. 1849 * ''Gymnadenia comigera'' Rchb. 1830 * ''Gymnadenia gracillima'' Schur 1871 * ''Gymnadenia ibukiensis''
Makino History Makino was established in 1937 by Tsunezo Makino in Japan, developing Japan's first numerical control, numerically controlled (NC) milling machine in 1958 and Japan's first milling machine, machining centre in 1966. The North America ...
1912 * ''Gymnadenia orchidis var. pantlingii'' Renz 2001 * ''Gymnadenia ornithis'' Rich. 1818 * ''Gymnadenia psuedoconopsea'' Gren. Rouy 1912 * ''Gymnadenia pyrenaica'' Giraudias 1882 * ''Gymnadenia sibirica'' Turcz. ex Lindl. 1835 * ''Gymnadenia splendida'' Dworschak 2002 * ''Gymnadenia splendida subsp. odorata'' Dworschak 2002 * ''Gymnadenia transsilvanica'' Schur 1866 * ''Gymnadenia vernalis'' Dworschak 2002 * ''Gymnadenia wahlenbergii'' Afzel. ex Rchb.f. 1851 * ''Habenaria conopsea'' ( L.) Benth. (1880) * ''Habenaria gymnadenia'' Druce 1897 * ''Orchis conopea'' Gras 1862 * ''Orchis conopsea'' L. 1753 * ''Orchis cornopica'' Mill. 1768 * ''Orchis ornithis'' Jacq. 1774 * ''Orchis peloria'' Foucault ex Poir. 1816 * ''Orchis pseudoconopea'' Gren. 1869 * ''Orchis pseudo-conopsea'' Gren. 1865 * ''Orchis pseudoconopsea'' J.Parm. 1894 * ''Orchis setacea'' Gilib. 1792 * ''Orchis suaveolens'' Salisb. 1796 * ''Satyrium conopseum'' (L.) Wahlenb. 1826Synonyms i
''The Internet Orchid Species Photo Encyclopedia'' at Orchidspecies
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References

* Pignatti S. - Flora d'Italia (3 voll.) - Edagricole – 1982, Vol. III * Tutin, T.G. et al. - Flora Europaea, second edition - 1993 * CLAESSENS, J. & J. KLEYNEN (2011): The flower of the European Orchid – Form and function


External links

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Gymnadenia conopsea

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{{Taxonbar, from=Q157442 conopsea Orchids of Europe Orchids of Asia Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus