Orchis militaris L.

Military orchid (en), Orchis guerrier (fr), Orchis casqué (fr), Orchis militaire (fr), Casque militaire (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Asparagales > Orchidaceae > Orchis

Characteristics

Plants 20-45 cm tall. Tubers ovoid, 1-1.5 cm, fleshy, entire. Stem with 2 tubular sheaths at base, 3-5-leaved. Leaves abaxially pale green, adaxially green, not spotted, oblong-elliptic to elliptic, 8-18 × 2.5-5 cm, apex obtuse. Inflorescence 4-10 × 0.3-0.5 cm, densely 5-15-flowered; floral bracts green sometimes tinged purplish red, ovate, 2-3 mm, much shorter than ovary, apex acuminate. Flowers scented, medium-sized; ovary green, tinged with violet, oblong, slightly arching, 1-1.5 cm including pedicel, glabrous. Sepals pinkish white, veined rose-purple on inner surfaces; dorsal sepal erect, ovate-lanceolate, concave, 9-13 × 3-4 mm, 3-veined, apex acuminate; lateral sepals erect, obliquely ovate-lanceolate, 9-13 × 3.5-4.5 mm, 3-veined, apex acuminate. Petals erect, connivent with dorsal sepal and forming a hood, pale purple to pink, linear, slightly shorter and narrower than dorsal sepal, 1-veined, apex acuminate; lip whitish in center with fine purplish red papillate spots, 1-1.4 cm, spurred at base, 4-lobed, lobes purplish red; basal lobes often erect, linear-falcate, ca. 8 × 1 mm, apex obtuse; mid-lobe much larger than basal lobes, linear-oblong to obovate, ca. 2 mm wide, apex divergently 2-lobed, with an apiculus between 2 lobules; lobules oblong-obovate, to 4 mm; spur pendulous, curving slightly forward, white or pink, cylindric, 5-6 mm, much shorter than ovary, apex obtuse. Column obtuse; anther purplish; rostellum 3-lobed. Fl. May-Jun, fr. Jul-Aug. 2n = 42.
More
An orchid. It is robust and 25-50 cm high. The tubers are oval and 1-1.5 cm across. The leaves form a ring and are glossy light green. The flower stalk carries 20-30 flowers. The flowers are 2 cm across. The lip is pink with small dark purple, hair like tufts.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination entomogamy
Spread anemochory
Mature width (meter) 0.1 - 0.5
Mature height (meter) 0.3 - 0.6
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

It is a temperate plant. It grows on calcareous soils in dry grassland and light forests. It grows between sea level and 1800 m altitude.
More
Grassy hills, banks, borders of fields and woodland edges on chalky soils. Extremely rare in Britain, growing in only one or two sites.
Light 5-9
Soil humidity 3-6
Soil texture 1-6
Soil acidity 5-9
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 5-8

Usage

The bulb is a source of edible starch, after processing and drying.
Uses medicinal
Edible roots tubers
Therapeutic use Tumor (unspecified)
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 militaris habit picture by Rudolf Krejcik (cc-by-sa)
Orchis militaris habit picture by doune34160 (cc-by-sa)
Orchis militaris habit picture by Ketxus Lopez (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Orchis militaris leaf picture by Rudolf Krejcik (cc-by-sa)
Orchis militaris leaf picture by Rudolf Krejcik (cc-by-sa)
Orchis militaris leaf picture by Tomaž Jančar (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Orchis militaris flower picture by Kampf Robert (cc-by-sa)
Orchis militaris flower picture by Aldo Avogadri (cc-by-sa)
Orchis militaris flower picture by Rudolf Krejcik (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Orchis militaris world distribution map, present in Afghanistan, Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Belarus, Switzerland, China, Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, France, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Greece, Hungary, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Italy, Kazakhstan, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Sweden, Turks and Caicos Islands, and Ukraine

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:648875-1
WFO ID wfo-0000259650
COL ID 6SSWH
BDTFX ID 46058
INPN ID 110920
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Orchis militaris Orchis militaris f. longibracteata Orchis militaris f. arenaria Orchis militaris f. angustissima Orchis militaris f. stenoloba Orchis militaris f. angustiloba Orchis militaris f. sibirica Orchis militaris f. platyloba Orchis militaris f. acuminata Orchis militaris f. intercedens Orchis militaris var. nervata Orchis rivini var. albiflora Orchis rivini var. stenoloba Orchis militaris var. tripartita Orchis tephrosanthos var. militaris Orchis militaris var. berdaui Orchis militaris var. spathulata Orchis militaris var. perplexa

Lower taxons

Orchis militaris subsp. stevenii Orchis militaris subsp. militaris