''Anacamptis morio'', the green-winged orchid or green-veined orchid (

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

''Orchis morio''), is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

of the

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. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

family,

Orchidaceae Orchids are plants that belong to the family (biology), family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan plants that ...

. It usually has purple flowers, and is found in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, Northern Africa and western

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

Description

It flowers from late April to June in the British Isles, and as early as February in other countries, such as France. The inflorescence is of various colours, mainly purple but ranging from white, through pink, to deep purple. From 5 to 25 helmet-shaped flowers grow in a loose, linear bunch at the top of the single stalk. A pair of lateral

sepals 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 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

with prominent green, occasionally purple veins extend laterally like "wings", giving the orchid its name. The broad, three lobed, lower petal is pale in the center with dark spots. Leaves are

lanceolate The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...

, or sometimes

ovate Ovate may refer to: * Ovate (egg-shaped) leaves, tepals, or other botanical parts *Ovate, a type of prehistoric stone hand axe * Ovates, one of three ranks of membership in the Welsh Gorsedd * Vates or ovate, a term for ancient Celtic bards ...

, and grow in a rosette around the base of the plan, with some thinner leaves clasping the stem and sheathing almost up to the flowers. Leaves are green and unspotted. Plants grow to 40 cm in height. It is similar in appearance to the early purple orchid ''

Orchis mascula ''Orchis mascula'', the early-purple orchid, early spring orchis, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Description ''Orchis mascula'' is a perennial herbaceous plant with stems up to high, green at the base and ...

'', which flowers around the same time of year, but ''Anacamptis morio'' has green stripes on the two lateral sepals, and lacks the spots or blotches of the Early Purple's leaves. Individual plants may flower for up to 17 years.

Taxonomy

The species was first described, as ''

Orchis ''Orchis'' is a genus in the orchid family (Orchidaceae), occurring mainly in Europe and Maghreb, Northwest Africa, and ranging as far as Tibet, Mongolia, and Xinjiang. The name is from the Ancient Greek ὄρχις ''orchis'', meaning "testicl ...

morio'', by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

, in 1753. It was transferred to the genus ''

Anacamptis ''Anacamptis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the orchid family (Orchidaceae); it is often abbreviated as Ant in horticulture. This genus was established by Louis Claude Richard in 1817; the type species is the pyramidal orchid (''A. pyramid ...

'' in 1997. ''Anacamptis'' comes from the Greek ανακάμτειν "anakamptein" which means to bend, although according to different sources it may mean to bend backward, to bend down or to bend forward. The name ''morio'' is Latin for "

clown A clown is a person who performs physical comedy and arts in an Improvisational theatre#Comedy, open-ended fashion, typically while wearing distinct cosmetics, makeup or costume, costuming and reversing social norm, folkway-norms. The art of ...

", which its striped and spotted flowers were held to resemble.

Subspecies

, the

World Checklist of Selected Plant Families The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (usually abbreviated to WCSP) was an "international collaborative programme that provides the latest peer reviewed and published opinions on the accepted scientific names and synonyms of selected p ...

accepts six subspecies: *''Anacamptis morio'' subsp. ''caucasica'' *''Anacamptis morio'' subsp. ''champagneuxii'' * ''Anacamptis morio'' subsp. ''longicornu'' (syn: ''Anacamptis longicornu'') — western Mediterranean region. *''Anacamptis morio'' subsp. ''morio'' *''Anacamptis morio'' subsp. ''picta'' * ''Anacamptis morio'' subsp. ''syriaca''

Distribution and habitat

It is a native of western

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

, ranging from

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, and Northern Africa from

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

. In the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

it is found in central-southern England, Wales and Ireland. It grows in unimproved grassy

meadows A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable condition ...

, especially on limestone-rich soil. This species thrives where grass is cut once or twice a year after flowering is complete, or where it is grazed after flowering is complete.BSBI Species Account - Anacamptis morio
/ref> Cutting or mowing should not take place immediately after flowering but give time for seed dispersal. It can grow in dry or wet grazed meadows. It can also be found in coastal

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

s, quarries, churchyards, as well as on roadsides and lawns. On the European continent it is also found in alpine pasture and in xerothermic grassland on porphyry outcrops. The maximum altitude for this species is somewhere between 1500 and 2000m.

Ecology

Pollination is by bees. The flowers do not produce nectar, but can attract pollinators with their visual appearance. This nectar deception "facilitates the mixing of pollen between different individual plants, promotes genetic diversity in the species, and has been favored evolutionarily over nectar production." Plants cannot establish without a mycorrhizal partner. This makes them vulnerable to chemicals, particularly fungicides, but also other chemical applications, including fertilisers, which could reduce the prevalence of particular species of fungi.

Mycorrhizal fungi A mycorrhiza (; , 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 plant's rhizosphere, the plant root system and its surroundings. Mycorrhizae play ...

known to grow in association with the green-winged orchid include '' Epulorhiza repens'' (

Tulasnellaceae The Tulasnellaceae are a family of fungi in the order Cantharellales. The family comprises mainly effused (patch-forming) fungi formerly referred to the " jelly fungi" or heterobasidiomycetes. Species are wood- or litter-rotting saprotrophs, b ...

) and ''Moniliopsis solani'' (

Ceratobasidiaceae The Ceratobasidiaceae are a family of fungi in the order Cantharellales. All species within the family have basidiocarps (fruit bodies) that are thin and effused. They have sometimes been included within the corticioid fungi or alternatively wit ...

Conservation

This species' conservation status is vulnerable and near threatened. It is a protected species in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

under the Wildlife (NI) Order of 1985.Orchis morio :: Flora of Northern Ireland web site
/ref> In 2001 ''Anacamptis morio'' was adopted as the logo for Priory Vale, the third and final instalment in Swindon's 'Northern Expansion' project. Due to a rapid decline in the species they are protected in certain cases, although still regarded as being quite common in the Swindon area, especially Clifford Meadow, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) off Thamesdown Drive,

Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...

References

External links

* Images. Habitats, habitus etc. and images of ''Anacamptis morio'' subsp. ''morio'' Anacamptis ''morio'' subsp. ''longicornu'', ''Anacamptis morio'' subsp. ''picta'', ''Anacamptis morio'' subsp. ''syriaca''
Den virtuella floran - Distribution

Swiss Orchid Foundation

BSBI Species Account - Anacamptis morio

Plantlife - Green-winged orchid

The Royal Society - The effects of nectar addition on pollen removal and geitonogamy in the non-rewarding orchid
{{Taxonbar, from=Q161153 morio Orchids of Europe Orchids of France Orchids of Lebanon Flora of Europe Flora of North Africa Flora of the Caucasus Flora of Western Asia Matorral shrubland Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Garden plants of Africa Garden plants of Europe