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Fam.:  Orchidaceae / Orchid Family

Synon.:  Platanthera bifolia  (L.) RICH.  subsp. graciliflora  BISSE,  Platanthera brachyglossa  (WALLR.) RCHB.

Genus:  Platanthera  (L.) RICH.
 

Authors:
   L.:  Carl von Linné (Linnaeus, 1707 - 1777), Swedish naturalist who introduced the binary naming system for plants and animals
   RICH.:  Louis Claude Marie Richard (1754 - 1821), French botanist
   BISSE:  Johannes Bisse (1935 - 1984), German botanist in Cuba
   WALLR.:  Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Wallroth (1792 - 1857), German botanist
   RCHB.:  Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach (1793 - 1879), German botanist
 

Etymology:
   Platanthera:   wide anther
   bifolia:   two-leaved
   graciliflora:   dainty-flowered
   brachyglossa:   with short tongue
 

Only recently the actually rather old realization is winning recognition again that there are different distinct clans of the Lesser Butterfly Orchid in central and northern Europe. Platanthera bifolia subsp. bifolia is the Lesser Butterfly Orchid described by Linné from Sweden. The plant shown here is of a delicate stature (10 - 35 cm) with a often dense inflorescence consisting of relatively small flowers. The lip is scarcely longer than the lateral sepals. It blooms relatively late. It occurs e.g. on acidic heath and moor sites in Scandinavia, the British Isles, the Netherlands and northern Germany, probably also rarely in the Alps. However, it is not identical with the large Lesser Butterfly Orchid Platanthera bifolia subsp. latiflora, which is the most common and widespread clan in Central Europe.

 

Platanthera bifolia subsp. bifolia / Lesser Butterfly Orchid, DK  Skagen 25.7.1996
Fig. 1:  Platanthera bifolia subsp. bifolia / Lesser Butterfly Orchid
DK Skagen 25.7.1996
Platanthera bifolia subsp. bifolia / Lesser Butterfly Orchid, D  Nord-Eifel,Krekeler Heide 10.6.2000
Fig. 2:  Platanthera bifolia subsp. bifolia / Lesser Butterfly Orchid
D Nord-Eifel,Krekeler Heide 10.6.2000
Platanthera bifolia subsp. bifolia / Lesser Butterfly Orchid, D  Nord-Eifel,Krekeler Heide 10.6.2000
Fig. 3:  Platanthera bifolia subsp. bifolia / Lesser Butterfly Orchid
D Nord-Eifel,Krekeler Heide 10.6.2000
Platanthera bifolia subsp. bifolia / Lesser Butterfly Orchid, D  Nord-Eifel,Krekeler Heide 10.6.2000
Fig. 4:  Platanthera bifolia subsp. bifolia / Lesser Butterfly Orchid
D Nord-Eifel,Krekeler Heide 10.6.2000
   
 


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