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Orchis italica Poir.

Orchis d'italie (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Asparagales > Orchidaceae > Orchis

Characteristics

A ground orchid. It is a short plant. There are 5-8 leaves at the base. They are oblong or sword shaped with a wavy edge. They can be flecked or spotted with purple-brown. The stem leaves are like sheaths. The bracts are small, oval and have 1 vein. They are shorter than the ovary. The flowers are in dense round clusters. The lower ones open first. The sepals and petals are pink or lilac with purple veins. They form a helmet 9-11 mm long and the lip is 12-18 mm long. It has purple tips and spots. There are slender pointed processes.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention -
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination entomogamy
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 0.3
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color -
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

It is a temperate of Mediterranean climate plant. It grows in open grassland and hillslopes.
More
Calcareous soils in grassland, garigue and open places in pine woodland.
Light 7-9
Soil humidity 3-6
Soil texture 1-6
Soil acidity 3-9
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 5-8

Usage

The bulb is used to produce salep.
Uses medicinal
Edible bulbs roots tubers
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by seedlings.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) 90 - 365
Germination temperacture (C°) 18 - 23
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Orchis italica habit picture by Pokotilo Olga (cc-by-sa)
Orchis italica habit picture by Frescata Carlos (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Orchis italica leaf picture by Ravi romarin (cc-by-sa)
Orchis italica leaf picture by Gut Jose a (cc-by-sa)
Orchis italica leaf picture by Bart Batsleer (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Orchis italica flower picture by michele sisto (cc-by-sa)
Orchis italica flower picture by Golan (cc-by-sa)
Orchis italica flower picture by Giuseppe tedesco (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Orchis italica world distribution map, present in Albania, Cyprus, Algeria, Spain, Greece, Italy, Libya, Morocco, Palau, Portugal, Turks and Caicos Islands, and Tunisia

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:648750-1
WFO ID wfo-0000259427
COL ID 6SSWK
BDTFX ID 79781
INPN ID 138419
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Orchis italica f. breviloba Orchis welwitschii Orchis longicruris Orchis undulatifolia Orchis simia var. undulatifolia Orchis fusca var. stenoloba Orchis longicruris subsp. longipenis Orchis purpurea var. stenoloba Orchis purpurea subsp. stenoloba Orchis tephrosanthos var. undulatifolia Orchis italica var. fontinalis x Orchiaceras welwitschii Orchis italica f. albiflora Orchis italica f. maculata Orchis italica
WorldFloraDB 2024