Orchis mascula

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Orchis mascula
Inflorescence
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Genus: Orchis
Species:
O. mascula
Binomial name
Orchis mascula
(L.) L.

Orchis mascula, the early-purple orchid,

Orchidaceae
.

Description

Orchis mascula is a

anthers
. It blooms from April to June.

Morphology
Close-up of a flower
Foliage
Distinctive spotted foliage in some specimens

Ecology

This orchid is devoid of nectar and attracts pollinating insects (bees and wasps of the genera

Xylocopa, and sometimes beetles
) with the appearance of its flower which mimics other species.

Orchids in the genus Orchis form mycorrhizal partnerships mainly with fungi in the family Tulasnellaceae.[3] Orchis mascula has been suggested to have only one mycorrhizal partner, in the Tulasnellaceae.[4]

Distribution and habitat

The species is widespread across Europe, from Portugal to the Caucasus (Ireland, Great Britain, The Faroe Islands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Spain, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Italy, former Yugoslavia, Albania, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Ukraine, most of Russia), in northwest Africa (Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco) and in the Middle East (Lebanon, Syria, Iraq) up to Iran.[5] (Codes)[6]

It grows in a variety of habitats, from meadows to mountain pastures and woods, in full sun or shady areas, from sea level to 2,500 metres (8,000 ft) altitude.

Taxonomy

The Latin

testicles
.

Subspecies

As of June 2014, the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families recognizes five subspecies:[7]

  • Orchis mascula subsp. ichnusae Corrias
  • Orchis mascula subsp. laxifloriformis Rivas Goday & B.Rodr. (including O. langei, O. mascula subsp. hispanica)
  • Orchis mascula subsp. mascula (including O. mascula subsp. pinetorum)
  • Orchis mascula subsp. scopulorum (Summerh.) H.Sund. ex H.Kretzschmar, Eccarius & H.Dietr.
  • Orchis mascula subsp. speciosa (Mutel) Hegi
  • Orchis mascula subsp. laxifloriformis - Spain, Navarre
    Orchis mascula subsp. laxifloriformis - Spain, Navarre
  • Orchis mascula subsp. mascula
    Orchis mascula subsp. mascula
  • Orchis mascula subsp. speciosa – Germany, Allgäuer Alpen
    Orchis mascula subsp. speciosa – Germany, Allgäuer Alpen
  • Orchis mascula (white form) – Germany, Saarland
    Orchis mascula (white form) – Germany, Saarland
  • Orchis mascula France, Pyrénées
    Orchis mascula France, Pyrénées

Synonyms

Cultivation and uses

A flour called salep or sachlav is made of the ground tubers of this or some other species of orchids. It contains a nutritious starch-like polysaccharide called glucomannan. In some magical traditions, its root is called Adam and Eve Root. It is said that witches used tubers of this orchid in love potions.

Culture and symbolism

Orchis mascula is commonly thought to be the plant referred to as "long purples" in Shakespeare's Hamlet (Act 4, Scene 7):[9]

Therewith fantastic garlands did she make
Of crow-flowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples,
That liberal shepherds give a grosser name,
But our cold maids do dead men's fingers call them.

It is not known which "grosser name" Shakespeare might have had in mind, but folk names given to plants in the Orchis family, based on their resemblance to testicles, include "dogstones", "dog's cods", "cullions" and "fool's ballocks".[9]

However, Shakespeare's allusion is uncertain, as no contemporary herbals apply the name of "long purples" or "dead men's fingers" to Orchis mascula. (Sidney Beisly, writing in 1864, claimed that certain other species of orchid were known as "dead men's fingers" on account of their palmate roots, and that this name may have been mistakenly transferred over to Orchis mascula, but this has been called an "unverifiable assumption".)[10] Some scholars, such as Karl P. Wentersdorf, therefore prefer to identify the "long purples" with Arum maculatum.[10]

Another folk name of Orchis mascula is "Gethsemane" (after the

Garden of Gethsemane, in which, according to the Bible, Jesus prayed on the night before his crucifixion). This name is derived from a legend "that O. mascula grew below the cross of Christ, and that the markings on the leaves are drops of Christ's blood".[11]

References

  1. ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  2. ISBN 9780521707725
    .
  3. ^ Molecular Ecology - Low specificity and nested subset structure characterize mycorrhizal associations in five closely related species of the genus Orchis
  4. S2CID 82584331. Archived from the original
    on 2022-07-01.
  5. ^ "World Checklist of Selected Plant Families".
  6. ^ "World Checklist of Selected Plant Families TDWG Geocodes" (PDF).
  7. ^ "Search for Orchis mascula", World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, retrieved 2014-06-29
  8. ^ Synonyms in The Internet Orchid Species Photo Encyclopedia
  9. ^
    ISBN 0-17-443469-3
    .
  10. ^
    JSTOR 2869150
    .
  11. S2CID 84491450
    .
  • Pierre Delforge - Orchids of Europe, North Africa And the Middle East - 2006, Timber Press
  • Pignatti S. - Flora d'Italia (3 voll.) - Edagricole – 1982, Vol. III
  • Tutin, T.G. et al. - Flora Europaea, second edition - 1993

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Orchis_mascula&oldid=1203107804"