SPIRANTHES SPIRALIS

Family and Genus:- See- ORCHIDACEAE

Common Names:- Autumn lady's tresses

Homotypic Synonyms:- Epipactis spiralis, Gyrostachys spiralis, Ibidium

spirale, Neottia spiralis, Ophrys spiralis, Serapias spiralis.

Meaning:- Spiranthes (Gr) Twisted, reference to the inflorescence.

Spiralis (L) Twisted, spiral.

General description:- Low to short, tuberous perennial.

Stem:-

1) 6-20(-35) cm, bearing 3-7 closely appressed, lanceolate, scale-leaves; stickily-

hairy. Upper part of the stem and inflorescence axis densely and shortly patent-

pubescent.

Leaves:-

1) Mostly in a basal rosette, to one side of the flower-spike and often withered by

flowering time, oval-elliptical.

2) Cauline, scale-like, imbricate.

Flowers:-

1) Spike, 3-10 cm, slender, with 6-20 flowers in one spiral row. Flowers white to

pale yellowish-green.

2) Bracts, 6-7 mm, acuminate.

3) Perianth-segments, 6-7 mm, oblong, white, the upper 3 distally connivent and

forming with the labellum a tube enclosing the column.

a) outer lateral segments, patent.

4) Labellum, 6-7 mm, with upwardly curved margins and undulate-crenulate apex,

yellowish-green.

5) Spur, absent.

Key features:-

1) Cauline leaves reduced to scales.

Habitat:- Dry grassy places, meadows, heaths, dry open shrubby vegetation, pine

woodland, generally on calcareous soils. 0-800 m.

Distribution:- Throughout Greece, widespread in Europe, scattered through

Anatolia to Caucasus and N Iran. Rare and scattered on Crete, but perhaps under

recorded.

Flowering time:- Sept-Nov.

Photos by:- Steve Lenton