Overview of many wild orchids found in the Cantabrian Mountains.

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This post is written with the intention to give a detailed account of a large number of wild orchids which can be found in the Cantabrian Mountains (Cordillera Cantabrica in Spanish) of northern Spain. To be more specific, those species that I've managed to photograph during the past year. Of many species I have put in a picture, not just to embellish this post, but mainly to illustrate the great variety of orchids. The majority has been localized around my hometown Cistierna, situated in the province of Leon, including quite a few who did not even belong to occur there, at least according to the official literature. So you see what a thorough fieldwork can bring to the scientific daylight. The species names are shown in orange and the generic names in magenta.

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The first blooming orchids and other wild flowers of 2014 in northern Spain

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To my great pleasure, last February 8 I have been able to see the first flowering orchids of the Cantabrian Mountains of this year. Because this winter is actually relatively mild and damp, these orchids have appeared  more than a week earlier than last year. Off course these orchids were not yet in full bloom, but on the lower part of the spikes many orchids had already several flowers. The orchid  I am talking about is the giant orchid or Himantoglossum robertianum. The name giant orchid is due to its large size and great length, sometimes with a height of about 1 meter. When an orchid is not blooming, it is often very difficult to determine the exact species or even the genus it belongs to. Nevertheless, with some practical experience it is possible to distinguish some species, using characteristics related to leaf color and leaf shape, which can be recognized but are often difficult to explain.

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The first blooming orchids of the Cantabrian Mountains: the giant orchid and the somber bee-orchid.

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The first blooming orchids we will be able to observe at the end of this winter in the north of Spain can be found in the autonomous region of Asturias, located in the milder parts of the northern Cantabrian Mountains. We are talking about the giant orchid ( Himantoglossum robertianum, formerly classified as  Barlia robertiana) and the somber bee-orchid ( Ophrys fusca ), also called the dark bee-orchid. The giant orchid will already be blooming in the second half of February  and most of the somber bee-orchids will flower in March. The giant orchid is certainly not a common orchid in the Cantabrian Mountains, but we still managed to locate some groups with up to 20 flowering specimens. I know that this is nothing compared with certain regions in Portugal where I´ve seen literally thousands of giant orchids, but I´m very glad we have some of them around in our region too. Of the Ophrys fusca we have found a very promising area right on the seashore with hundreds of plants in bloom and also some hitherto unknown smaller populations scattered around Asturias, at least unknown according to the specialised literature.

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A new location of the Orchis italica (naked man orchid).

A new location of the Orchis italica in the Cistierna area (province of León).

Introduction.

The Orchis italica is a Mediterranean orchid whose distribution is mainly located in the southern half of Spain, while in the north of Spain their are only two known territories (see map). Two weeks ago I found three specimens of Orchis italica in the neighbourhood of Cistierna, situated between those northern territories and indicated on the map by the blue rectangle.

Characteristics of the Orchis italica.

The Orchis italica is known in English as the naked man orchid, due to the form of the individual flowers which resemble a naked male form. The spike is very densely packed with flowers of a purple-pink-whitish colour. The petals and sepals are all curved upwards forming a kind of helmet covering the column. The lip is long and has the shape of a man, with arms, legs and a third protuberance. The colour of the spur is somewhat lighter than the rest of the flower and this spur is short, thick and slightly curved downwards. The bracts are short compared to the ovary. The leaves are corrugated and may have some purple-brown spots.
The orchids I have found were all located on more or less shady places between the bushes, but they also occur on sunny grasslands.

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Wild orchids in Spain: Anacamptis picta

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  A huge field filled with tens of thousands of wild orchids of the species Anacamptis picta.

Introduction.

About 10 days ago by chance we encountered a huge field full of wild orchids. They were all of a species which is fairly common in the southern Cantabrian Mountains: the Anacamptis picta. As often, not everybody agrees with this name and this orchid is also known as the Anacamptis morio subsp. picta, and formerly it was known as the Orchis morio subsp. picta. Whatever its name, suddenly we saw a field which was really packed with orchids. Fortunately, the field was not grazed by cattle, although grazing at the right time of the year is rather  positive for orchids. The numbers of A. picta were truly overwhelming, so much that there was a purple glow over the field. The surface of the field is about 10 hectares (measured from air photos) and a very conservative estimate is that there are significantly more than five hundred thousand (500,000) orchids. Of course something special like this has to be shared, although the exact location can´t be mentioned

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Wild orchids in Spain: the Anacamptis champagneuxii.

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Just another orchid from the Cantabrian Mountains: the Anacamptis champagneuxii, member of the section Moriones.

The Anacamptis champagneuxii is a rare and purple colored orchid from the western Mediterranean, also present in the strip of wild nature directly adjacent to the Southern Cantabrian Mountains. Until about 10 years ago the genus Anacamptis counted only one member, namely the pyramidal orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis). However, due to the strong rise of the genetic research the former orchid classifications have been shaken up quiet a bit. Many orchids which traditionally were counted to the genus Orchis were found to have much more in common with the Anacamptis pyramidalis than was ever suspected. The research of Richard Bateman and co-workers in 2003 led to a new classification based on phylogenetics and other aspects. As always in science not all researchers agreed with the changes, but today it seems to be the most widely accepted classification. However, because of this relatively recent change and some resistance against the new name , it is possible to find this orchid in the literature as the Orchis champagneuxii. The genus Anacamptis is divided into sections and the Anacamptis champagneuxii belongs to the section Moriones which also include the green winged orchid (Anacamptis morio) and the Anacamptis picta, which are all present in the Cantabrian Mountains.The species name champagneuxii is in honor of the French botanist Champagneux (1774-1845).

The Anacamptis champagneuxii is especially similar to the Anacamptis picta, which is also known as a subspecies of the green winged orchid (Anacamptis morio subs picta) and therefore it can be hard to tell them apart and therefore I first want to enumerate the most striking differences between both orchids.

• The central part of the lip of the A. champagneuxii is completely white or pink (perhaps with very faint spots), instead the lip is speckled.
• The side lobes of the lip of the A. champagneuxii arealmost completely folded back, much more than the lip of the A.picta, which even can be wide spread.  
• The spur of the A.champagneuxii is longer in proportion and at the end more flattened.  
• The spike of the A.champagneuxii is shorter, thinner and with fewer flowers.
• The A.champagneuxii grows very often in striking compact groups, which is due to its vegetative propagation.
• The A.champagneuxii seems to have three tubers while the A picta has only 2 tubers, but obviously  we are not going to dig up, so in practice its not a very useful feature.

Note: if its clear about what genus we are talking, it´s a custom to indicate the genus only with its first  character. In this case instead of Anacamptis champagneuxii we use A. champagneuxii. 







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Photos of some wild orchids found in León (Cantabrian Mountains).

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Photos of some wild orchids found in the province of León (Spain).

General introduction.

In Spain, the Cantabrian Mountains (Cordillera Cantábrica) are widely known for its rugged and unspoiled nature and its great abundance of animals and plants. Some of the most emblematic animals are: the brown bear, the wolf, the capercaillie, the golden eagle, the griffon vulture, and  the bearded vulture, which has returned three years ago. Also the recollection of medicinal herbs and herbs for the kitchen is a centuries-old habit.

Less known is the great wealth of wild orchids. In a recently completed study, conducted in a relatively small part of the Cantabrian Mountains (in the province of León) by J.M. Diez Santos, no fewer than 55 species and 10 hybrids have been determined.

Since the wild orchids are my favorite plants, they will certainly feature prominently in this blog about the nature of the Cantabrian Mountains.

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The Anacamptis picta is a species very similar to the green-winged orchid (Anacamptis morio).

Description and photos of the Anacamptis picta.

The Anacamptis picta, which is very similar to the green-winged orchid (Anacamptis morio) and who some consider to be a subspecies (Anacamptis morio subsp. picta), is one of the most common orchids of the Cantabrian Mountains. It flowers from April to June depending on the amount of rain and temperature, and the altitude and orientation of the habitat. The unspotted and lanceolate leaves grow in a basal rosette with some leaves sheathing the stem almost up to the flowers. The inflorescence has normally between 6 and 25 flowers, although it can be slightly less or much more, which are distributed in a linear or pyramidal bunch on top of a stalk. The dorsal sepal and the lateral petals form together a helmet, covered or "winged" by the lateral sepals which have a prominent green or sometimes purple veins, much like the features of the green-winged orchid (A. morio). The three-lobed labellum or lip has a pale center with purple spots and the side-lobes are clearly folded backwards, which is one of the characteristics which distinguishes it from the green-winged orchid, which has a broad lip. The spur is relatively long and straight or slightly arched upwards with a dilated and flattened apex, which contains no nectar.

The colour is red-purple to pink, although very pale specimens can be found occasionally. The Anacamptis picta has normally 2 sessile tubers (meaning that they are attached to each other), with a great similarity to two testicles.

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Orchis purpurea or the lady orchid

Description and photos of the lady orchid (Orchis purpurea).

Marius van Heiningen

Personal introduction.

The usual way of most plant books to describe a species is by means of a picture of the flower and a description of the details, which is understandable because colour photos are expensive. On internet a lot of websites follow the same patron, which is less understandable because the capacity of blogs and webs is actually quite big (for instance, the capacity of a “blogspot-blog” is 5 Gb). When flower hunting in the field, an accurate description of the details is very welcome, because you can check them right at the spot, with the book in your hand. But when searching on the web for more information I would like to find detailed descriptions with lots of photos. For this reason I´ll try to write my posts showing the characteristics in various photos. I hope this way the information will be of use to the reader.

Introduction.

The lady orchid or Orchis purpurea is a conspicuous orchid, both due to the height of the flowering stalks (25 – 100 cm) and the dense inflorescence with lots of purple-white flowers. It even may be too conspicuous, because it makes them prone to flower picking. It is a perennial plant who´s leaves appear above ground in the winter, normally in January or February. These more or less lanceolate leaves, this is with a rounded base tapering towards the apex, are relatively big and parallel-nerved (like all orchids). In the Cantabrian Mountains flowering takes places during April and May. The flower has a spur without nectar, so it is a food-deceptive orchid, but they produce a sweet odour and are pollinated by bumblebees or butterflies.

In the southern Cantabrian Mountains this orchid is not very common, but I have been able to locate several groups of about 30 – 40 of adult orchids with inflorescences and much more scattered exemplars have been found alone or in small groups. Most grow in full sunlight, others grow between (evergreen) oaks or even in poplar plantations, but none has been found in heavily shaded forests.

Photo 1 shows the general robust aspect of Orchis purpurea, the lady orchid, with long and broad leaves and a thick spike with a dense inflorescence, which may have up to a hundred flowers or more. They grow on calcareous soil, often in full sun but also in partly shadowed habitats.

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Structure of an orchid flower

The structure of an orchid flower

Marius van Heiningen

 

Introduction.

I decided to write this post because I personally had some difficulty in finding clear pictures which explain the basal anatomy of an orchid flower. It seems that in every picture some basic parts were missing. In this entry I first give a brief summary of the basic parts of a common flower (stamen, carpel, sepals and petals), to continue with the basic parts of an orchid flower and followed by a more detailed description of the gynostemium (column). The structure of the labellum (lip) will be treated in another post because of its great complexity and diversity and its importance for indentifying the exact genera or species.

Very brief summary of a typical flower. 

A typical flower has stamens, carpel(s), a whorl of sepals (calyx) and a whorl of petals (corolla).

A stamen is the pollen-producing male organ of the flower and normally consists of a threadlike filament with an anther on top. It is the anther which produces the pollen. All the stamens together are collectively called the androecium (man´s house).

A carpel is the seed-producing female organ of the flower and normally consists of an ovary, style and stigma. The ovary is the basal part of the carpel where one or more ovules are formed.  The style is a stalk through which the pollen reach the ovules in the ovary. The stigma is usually on top of the style and is often sticky to capture the pollen.

 In many plants the carpels are fused into one or several carpel-like structures. All the carpels together (fused or unfused) are called the gynoecium (woman´s house). In almost all flowers the gynoecium is located in the centre, surrounded by the androecium. Both are surrounded by the perianth.

The perianth is the outer part of the flower consisting of the calyx (the sepals) and the corolla (the petals).  When the sepals and the petals are very similar they are called tepals.

Photo 1 shows a flower of the Turk´s cap lily (Lilium martagon) with a 6 of stamens surrounding a single style with stigma. The flower has 3 petals and 3 sepals which look very much alike (tepals).

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