''Limodorum'' is a genus of myco-heterotrophic

orchids 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 Earth ...

. All species are temperate terrestrial plants and occur across much of Europe, North-West Africa, the Mediterranean Islands, and as far east as Iran. Plants have evolved away from

photosynthesis Photosynthesis ( ) is a system of biological processes by which photosynthetic organisms, such as most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, convert light energy, typically from sunlight, into the chemical energy necessary to fuel their metabo ...

and as a result their leaves are reduced to

scales Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number ...

. There is still

chlorophyll Chlorophyll is any of several related green pigments found in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of algae and plants. Its name is derived from the Greek words (, "pale green") and (, "leaf"). Chlorophyll allows plants to absorb energy ...

present but the plants are believed to be solely dependent on their fungal partner for nutrients. They spend most of their life underground as a short stem with fleshy roots, the unbranched inflorescence can appear in April to June if conditions are favourable. The name finds its origin in "haemodoron", first applied by

Theophrastus Theophrastus (; ; c. 371 – c. 287 BC) was an ancient Greek Philosophy, philosopher and Natural history, naturalist. A native of Eresos in Lesbos, he was Aristotle's close colleague and successor as head of the Lyceum (classical), Lyceum, the ...

and later adopted by

Jacques Daléchamps Jacques Daléchamps (1513, Caen – 1588) was a French botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ...

to refer to

parasitic plants A parasitic plant is a plant that derives some or all of its nutritional requirements from another living plant. They make up about 1% of angiosperms and are found in almost every biome. All parasitic plants develop a specialized organ called the ...

most likely in

Orobanche ''Orobanche'', commonly known as broomrape, is a genus of almost 200 species of small Parasitic plant, parasitic herbaceous plants, mostly native to the temperate climate, temperate Northern Hemisphere. It is the type genus of the Orobanchaceae ...

. The name is derived from the Greek “leimo-” (meadow) and “dōron,” (gift).

Species

A very long list of names has been proposed over the years. Most of these species, once part of ''Limodorum'', have been transferred to other genera. There are currently three recognised species in ''Limodorum'':Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref>Altervista Flora Italiana, Fior di legna, Violet Limodore, ''Limodorum abortivum'' (L.) Swartz
/ref> *''

Limodorum abortivum ''Limodorum abortivum'', also known as violet limodore or violet bird's-nest orchid, is a species of myco-heterotrophic, achlorophyllous orchid and is native to mainland Europe, western Asia and the Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ...

'' (L.) Swartz - Central Europe, the Mediterranean region as far east as Iran and the Caucasus *''

Limodorum trabutianum ''Limodorum'' is a genus of Myco-heterotrophy, myco-heterotrophic Orchidaceae, orchids. All species are temperate terrestrial plants and occur across much of Europe, North-West Africa, the Mediterranean Islands, and as far east as Iran. Plants h ...

'' Bartolo & Pulv. - Turkey *''

Limodorum rubriflorum ''Limodorum'' is a genus of myco-heterotrophic orchids. All species are temperate terrestrial plants and occur across much of Europe, North-West Africa, the Mediterranean Islands, and as far east as Iran. Plants have evolved away from photosynt ...

'' Batt. - Spain, Portugal, Balearic Islands, Sardinia, Sicily, mainland Italy, Algeria, Morocco

References

* (1760) Definitiones Generum Plantarum 358. * (2006) Epidendroideae (Part One). Genera Orchidacearum 4: 506 ff. Oxford University Press.

External links

Orchids of Britain and Europe
* * Neottieae Neottieae genera Myco-heterotrophic orchids {{Epidendroideae-stub

Species

See also

References

External links