''Cephalanthera longifolia'', the narrow-leaved helleborine, sword-leaved helleborine or long-leaved helleborine, is a

rhizomatous In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

perennial plant In horticulture, the term perennial (''wikt:per-#Prefix, per-'' + ''wikt:-ennial#Suffix, -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annual plant, annuals and biennial plant, biennials. It has thus been d ...

in the 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 is native to light woodland, and widespread across

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 ...

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 ...

and

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

from

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and

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 ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. This includes the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

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 ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and many other countries.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref>

Description

''Cephalanthera longifolia'' reaches on average in height in typical conditions. This orchid has erect and glabrous multiple stems. The leaves are dark green, long and narrowly tapering (hence the common name "sword-leaved helleborine"). The inflorescence is a lax, 5-20 flowered spike with the bell-shaped flowers ascending in an oblique spiral. The flowers are white, about long, with a yellow-edged labellum and they usually open only during the warmest and brightest hours of the day. This plant can be found in bloom from April to June, depending on location and altitude. The fruit is a dry capsule and the dust-like seed is dispersed by the wind. One unusual characteristic of this species is that some individuals are achlorophyllous (lacking green pigment) and take all their nutrition from

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 ...

.Canadian Journal of Botany - Cephalanthera longifolia is mixotrophic
/ref>

Ecology

The flowers are pollinated by solitary burrowing bees. The flowers produce little nectar and the yellowish dust on the labellum which the insects collect is of little nutritional value. The actual pollen is contained in two pollinia which adhere to the hairs on the bee's back. An investigation in Estonia determined that the mycorrhizal partners of this orchid species include

Thelephoraceae The Thelephoraceae are a family of fungi in the order Thelephorales. This grouping of mushrooms is commonly known as the "leathery earthfans". Genera The family includes the following eight genera: * '' Amaurodon'' * '' Hypochnus'' * '' Lenzit ...

and

Helotiales Helotiales is an order (biology), order of the class Leotiomycetes within the division Ascomycota. The taxonomy within Helotiales has been debated. It has expanded significantly as genomic techniques for taxonomical identification have become mor ...

. Another investigation indicated 9 mycorrhizal partners (still fewer than those recorded for ''

Cephalanthera damasonium ''Cephalanthera damasonium'', the white helleborine, is a species of orchid. It is widespread across much of Europe and Asia. ''Cephalanthera damasonium'' is the type species of the genus '' Cephalanthera''. Description ''Cephalanthera damasoni ...

''): '' Bjerkandera adusta'', ''

Phlebia acerina ''Phlebia'' is a genus of mostly crust fungi in the family Meruliaceae. The genus has a widespread distribution. ''Phlebia'' species cause white rot. Taxonomy ''Phlebia'' was circumscribed by Swedish mycologist Elias Fries in his 1821 work ''Sy ...

'',

Sebacinaceae The Sebacinaceae are a family of fungi in the order Sebacinales. Species produce basidiocarps (fruit bodies} that are gelatinous or cartilaginous and variously corticioid, clavarioid, bracket-like, or jelly-like. Microscopically, all have septate ...

, '' Tetracladium sp.'', 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 ...

sp''. ''Cephelanthera longifolia'' is vulnerable to grazing by deer.

Distribution

''Cephalanthera longifolia'' is common in some parts of its European range, such as southern

and

, but endangered particularly in northern areas such as

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. In

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

and

it is a quite uncommon and declining species, and conservation work is being carried out at a number of sites to safeguard it (see also Galley Down Wood). In 2007 it was listed as a priority species under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. The charity

Plantlife International Plantlife is a wild plant conservation charity. , it manages 24 nature reserves around the United Kingdom. HM King Charles III is patron of the charity. History Plantlife was founded in 1989. Its first president was Professor David Bellamy. ...

is leading this work in the

Habitat

Sword-leaved helleborine usually grows in damp woodland places (mainly oak and beech), forest edges and rocky slopes. These plants prefer calcareous soils and in well exposed places, at an altitude of above sea level. This species was once abundant, when forests were used for grazing livestock and trees were coppiced, but is now threatened by overgrowth of larger plants. As the flower spikes are eaten by deer, the sword-leaved helleborine is also threatened by the increase of deer populations following extirpation of large predators like the wolf and brown bear in many parts of Europe.

Etymology

The genus name ''Cephalanthera'' comes from the Greek κεφαλή ''kephalē'' (head) and ἄνθηρα ''anthēra'' (

anther The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

): the anther is placed at the top (head) of the

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

. The Latin name ''longifolia '' means ''with long leaves ''. "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 (a group of species in the family

Ranunculaceae Ranunculaceae (, buttercup or crowfoot family; Latin "little frog", from "frog") is a family (biology), family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide. The largest genera are ''Ranunculus'' (600 spec ...

). "Hellebore" comes from the Greek "álkē" and "bora", translating as "fawn" and "food of beasts".Dictionary.com
/ref>

Gallery

File:Orchidaceae - Cephalanthera longifolia-4.JPG, Whole plant File:Orchidaceae - Cephalanthera longifolia-7.JPG, Close-up on a flower File:Orchidaceae - Cephalanthera longifolia-1.JPG, Flower File:Orchidaceae - Cephalanthera longifolia-3.JPG, Inflorescence File:Orchidaceae - Cephalanthera longifolia-6.JPG, Leaves File:Cephalanthera longifolia - identifiée7.jpg, Inflorescence

References

External links

* Pignatti S. - Flora d'Italia (3 voll.) - Edagricole - 1982 * Tutin, T.G. et al. - Flora Europaea, second edition - 1993
Acta Plantarum

Den virtuella floran - Distribution

* ttps://www.biolib.cz/en/taxon/id42106/ Biolib
''Cephalanthera longifolia''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q157427 longifolia Orchids of Asia Orchids of China Flora of North Africa Orchids of Europe Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Karl Fritsch Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN