''Ponerorchis cucullata'', formerly ''Neottianthe cucullata'', is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the family

Orchidaceae 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 ...

, native to temperate Eurasia from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, and also to the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

. It is terrestrial, growing from tubers, to a height of up to 30 cm, with pinkish flowers arranged in a one-sided spike. It was placed in several different

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

before a study in 2014 showed that it belonged in an expanded ''

Ponerorchis ''Ponerorchis'' is a genus of Asian terrestrial tuberous orchids (family Orchidaceae). It is native to temperate Eurasia, from Poland to Japan, to the north of the Indian subcontinent and to northern Indochina. They can be found in evergreen for ...

''.

Description

''Ponerorchis cucullata'' grows from more or less ellipsoid

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing ...

s. It reaches a height of around 10–30 cm. It has two basal leaves, 5–7 cm long by 1.5–3 cm wide. One or two smaller

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

-like leaves occur further up the stem. The pinkish flowers are arranged in a one-sided spike. The lip or labellum is 7–9 mm long and is deeply divided into three lobes, the middle lobe being the longest. The

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s and lateral

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s are about 1 mm shorter than the labellum, and together form a "hood". A spur is present, about 6 mm long, slightly expanded at the tip. The viscidia are not enclosed in a "sac" or bursicle.

Taxonomy

The species was first described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

in 1753 as ''Orchis cucullata''. It was subsequently transferred to a number of genera, including ''

Gymnadenia ''Gymnadenia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the orchid family (Orchidaceae) containing 22 terrestrial species. The former genus ''Nigritella'' is now included in ''Gymnadenia''. They can be found in damp meadows, fens and marshes, and on ch ...

'' and ''

Habenaria ''Habenaria'', commonly called rein orchids or bog orchids, is a widely distributed genus of orchids in the tribe Orchideae. About 880 species of ''Habenaria'' have been formally described. They are native to every continent except Antarctica, g ...

'', before being placed in ''Neottianthe'' in 1919. A

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study in 2014 found that species of ''Neottianthe'', ''Amitostigma'' and ''

'' were mixed together in a single

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

, making none of the three genera

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

as then

circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every polyg ...

. ''Neottianthe'' and ''Amitostigma'' were subsumed into ''Ponerorchis'', with this species becoming ''Ponerorchis cucullata''.

Distribution

''Ponerorchis cucullata'' has a very wide distribution in temperate regions of Eurasia. In Europe, it is native to

and

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

. In Asia, it is found in

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

, the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. It is also found in the

including

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from1=Q43372357, from2=Q164254, from3=Q21977691 cucullata Flora of China Flora of East Himalaya Flora of Eastern Europe Flora of Japan Flora of Korea Flora of Mongolia Flora of Nepal Flora of Poland Flora of Siberia Flora of the Russian Far East Flora of West Himalaya Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus