Dactylorhiza

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Dactylorhiza
Dactylorhiza fuchsii Mariazell 01.JPG
Common spotted orchid
(Dactylorhiza maculata subsp. fuchsii)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Orchideae
Subtribe: Orchidinae
Genus: Dactylorhiza
Neck. ex Nevski, 1937
Synonyms [1]
  • CoeloglossumHartm.
  • × DactyloglossumP.F. Hunt & Summerh.
  • Dactylorchis(Klinge) Verm.
  • DactylorrhizaNeck., rejected name
  • DiplorrhizaEhrh.
  • EntaticusGray, illegitimate superfluous name
  • SatorkisThouars, illegitimate superfluous name
  • SatyriumL. 1753, rejected name, not the accepted name Sw. 1800
  • StreptogyneRchb.f.

Dactylorhiza is a genus of flowering plants in the orchid family Orchidaceae. Its species are commonly called marsh orchids or spotted orchids. [2] Dactylorhiza were previously classified under Orchis , which has two round tubers. [3]

Contents

Description

They are hardy tuberous geophytes. In a thickened underground stem, they can store a large amount of water to survive arid conditions. The tuber is flattened and finger-like. The long leaves are lanceolate and, in most species, also speckled. They grow along a rather long stem which reaches a height of 70–90 cm (28–35 in). Leaves higher on the stem are shorter than leaves lower on the stem. The inflorescence, compared to the length of the plant, is rather short. It consists of a compact raceme with 25-50 flowers. These develop from axillary buds. The dominant colors are white and all shades of pink to red, sprinkled with darker speckles.

Taxonomy

Etymology

The name Dactylorhiza is derived from Greek words δάκτυλος daktylos 'finger' and ῥίζα rhiza 'root', referring to the palmately two- to five-lobed tubers of this genus.

Species

Dactylorhiza cordigera ssp. pindica Dactylorhiza cordigera ssp. pindica Griechenland 664 6.6.jpg
Dactylorhiza cordigera ssp. pindica
Dactylorhiza incarnata nothosubsp. versicolor Dactylorhiza incarnata nothosubsp. versicolor - Keila2.jpg
Dactylorhiza incarnata nothosubsp. versicolor
Dactylorhiza russowii Dactylorhiza russowii inflorescence - Niitvalja bog.jpg
Dactylorhiza russowii
Elder-flowered orchid
(Dactylorhiza sambucina) Dactylorhiza sambucina (massif des Vosges).jpg
Elder-flowered orchid
(Dactylorhiza sambucina)

Many species in this genus hybridise so readily that species boundaries themselves are vague (but see [4] ), with regular name changes and no clear answers. A few species colonise very well onto fresh industrial wastes such as pulverised fuel ash, where vast hybrid swarms can appear for a decade or more, before ecological succession replaces them.

34 species are accepted. [5]

Hybrids

Dactylorhiza x aschersoniana Dactylorhiza x aschersoniana 190505.jpg
Dactylorhiza × aschersoniana
Dactylorhiza x braunii Dactylorhiza x braunii 030606.jpg
Dactylorhiza × braunii

Plants of the World Online accepts the following inter-specific hybrids. [5]

Note : nothosubspecies = a hybrid subspecies; nothovarietas = a hybrid variety.

Distribution and habitat

These terrestrial orchids grow in basic soils in wet meadows, bogs, heathland and in areas sparsely populated by trees. They are distributed throughout the subarctic and temperate northern hemisphere. It is found across much of Europe, North Africa and Asia from Portugal and Iceland to Taiwan and Kamchatka, including Russia, Japan, China, Central Asia, the Middle East, Ukraine, Scandinavia, Germany, Poland, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, etc. Inclusion of the widespread frog orchid, often called Coeloglossum viride , into Dactylorhiza as per some recent classifications, [6] [7] expands the genus distribution to include Canada and much of the United States. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families Dactylorhiza
  2. RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN   978-1405332965.
  3. Foley, M (2005). Orchids of the British Isles. Cheltenham, UK: Griffin press Publishing Ltd. ISBN   0-9541916-1-7.
  4. Brandrud, Marie K; Baar, Juliane; Lorenzo, Maria T; Athanasiadis, Alexander; Bateman, Richard M; Chase, Mark W; Hedrén, Mikael; Paun, Ovidiu (2019-05-25). Savolainen, Vincent (ed.). "Phylogenomic Relationships of Diploids and the Origins of Allotetraploids in Dactylorhiza (Orchidaceae)". Systematic Biology. 69 (1): 91–109. doi: 10.1093/sysbio/syz035 . ISSN   1063-5157. PMC   6902629 . PMID   31127939.
  5. 1 2 "Dactylorhiza Neck. ex Nevski". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  6. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, Coeloglossum viride
  7. Bateman, R.M. (2009). Evolutionary classification of European orchids: the crucial importance of maximising explicit evidence and minimising authoritarian speculation. Journal Europäischer Orchideen 41: 243-318. [as Dactylorhiza viridis]

Bibliography