Broad-leaved orchid

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Broad-leaved orchid
Broad-leaved orchid (Dactylorhiza majalis)

Broad-leaved orchid ( Dactylorhiza majalis )

Systematics
Family : Orchids (orchidaceae)
Subfamily : Orchidoideae
Tribe : Orchideae
Sub tribus : Orchidinae
Genre : Orchids ( Dactylorhiza )
Type : Broad-leaved orchid
Scientific name
Dactylorhiza majalis
( Rchb. ) PFHunt & Summerh.

The broad-leaved orchid ( Dactylorhiza majalis ), also called broad-leaved fingerwort , is a species of orchid that can still be found occasionally on unfertilized wet meadows . The generic name Dactylorhiza comes from the finger-like tubercles (from Greek δάκτυλος dactylos "finger" and ρίζα rhiza "root"). The specific epithet majalis indicates the flowering month of May (from Latin maialis "related to May").

description

They are perennial herbaceous plants that reach heights of 15 to 40 cm, strong plants even 60 cm. The three to eight dark-spotted leaves are distributed on the stem . The lower leaves are ovate to ovate-lanceolate with a length of 6 to 18 cm and a width of 1.5 to 3.5 cm. The upper leaves become increasingly smaller and are more lanceolate in shape. The bracts are about as long as the flower, they cover it before opening.

The 4 to 15 cm long, densely flowered inflorescence is initially conical, when it has opened it is clearly cylindrical and contains 7 to 40 flowers. The flowers are purple in color, rarely light pink or white. The lateral bracts of the outer circle of the perigon are oblique or perpendicular upwards. They are 7 to 12 mm long and 2.5 to 5 mm wide. The middle bract is smaller and forms a "helmet" with the two lateral bracts of the inner circle. These are 6 to 11 mm long. The three-lobed lip is 5 to 10 mm long and 7 to 14 mm wide. The lip shape and the lip pattern are variable. In the lighter, central area of ​​the lip, the drawing is made up of lines, lines or points. The spur is curved a little downwards and is almost as long as the ovary .

The flowering period begins in early May in lower areas and ends in late July in higher areas. The bottom flowers usually open before the stem has reached its final height. The tuber is flat and three-part palm-shaped.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 40, 60 or 80.

ecology

The broad-leaved orchid is a tuber geophyte .

The flowers are "orchis-type lip flowers". The flowers are rotated 180 degrees by rotating the ovary. This process is triggered by gravity . The lip spur has no nectar , but is equipped with a sugar-rich "drilled" tissue. The pollen is in 2 stalked pollinia with adhesive disks. This is an adaptation to the fact that the ovary has many ovules, of which as many as possible should be fertilized. Pollinators are mostly bees , which transfer the pollinium, which sticks to their head and which leans forward after 30 seconds, to the sticky stigma of another flower. Flowering time is from May to July. The fruits are capsules with hygroscopically closable longitudinal slits, which the seeds only release in dry weather. Each fruit contains around 6000 tiny seeds with a seedling made up of just a few cells. Instead of nutrient tissue, the seeds have a cavity made of air. This allows them to spread out as a typical granular flyer. Its rate of descent is 25 cm / s, which enables a flight range of 10 km. Fruit ripens in September. Seed germination is only possible in the presence of a specific fungus (endotrophic mycorrhiza ). Vegetative reproduction occurs through basal brood buds .

Genetics and development

Rare white-flowered form, near Jena

The species group of the broad-leaved orchid consists of multiple independently developed allotetraploids from crosses between the flesh-colored orchid ( Dactylorhiza incarnata ) and Fuchs's orchid ( Dactylorhiza fuchsii or Dactylorhiza maculata subsp. Fuchsii ) . The regionally developed allotetraploids are very variable in appearance and are listed as subspecies. They have a karyotype of four sets of chromosomes, each with 20 chromosomes ( cytology : 4n = 80). The broad-leaved orchid can form stable hybrids with both parent species and with other closely related orchid species , which have often been described as separate species or subspecies.

Propagation takes place either via seeds or the growth of more than one daughter tuber per year. The seeds are very small (like specks of dust) and can hardly be seen as such with the naked eye. The seed does not contain any nutrient tissue for the seedling . A germination can only using a special root fungus ( mycorrhiza done).

distribution

The broad-leaved orchid grows mainly on low-nitrogen, moist to wet meadows that consist of various plant communities . It is less common in fens . The plant loves unshaded, sunny locations.

The plant communities are:

  • Order Molinietalia caerulae (wet herbaceous vegetation)
  • Association Caricion nigrae
  • Order Tofieldietalia (Kleinseggenriede)
  • Association Caricion davallianae

(For a breakdown see plant sociological units according to Oberdorfer )

The distribution area extends in Europe from the Pyrenees to the Baltic States and the Don and outside Europe to Siberia. Broad-leaved orchid does not occur south of the Alps, it is rare in southern Scandinavia. According to Baumann and Künkele , this species has the following altitude limits in the Alpine countries: Germany 2–1707 meters, France 0–2370 meters, Switzerland 360–2536 meters, Liechtenstein 430–1900 meters, Austria 120–2300 meters, Italy 30–2250 meters, Slovenia 180–1400 meters and in Europe 0–2536 meters.

It is a floral element of the Central and West Sub-Mediterranean, Pannonian, South and Central Atlantic, Subatlantic and Central European Florence zones, possibly also the Pontic Florence zone.

Broad-leaved orchid is still widespread in Germany with several gaps, but many locations are already extinct, especially from western to northern Germany.

Broad-leaved orchid is also still sufficiently widespread in Switzerland. There is a clear gap south of the Aare between Aarau and Lake Neuchâtel .

Locations and distribution in Central Europe

Leaf rosette with bud, near Pretzfeld, Franconian Switzerland

The broad-leaved orchid needs moist, not necessarily calcareous, not too nutrient-poor soil.

It inhabits flat moors, swamp meadows and light floodplain forests. It rises in the Alps to over 2000 m. In the Allgäu Alps, near the mountain station of the Kanzelwandbahn in the Kleiner Walsertal , it rises up to 1,860 m above sea level. At its locations it occurs here and there in larger, loose, often rich in individuals.

Conservation and endangerment

Broad-leaved orchid is even more common in some regions, but is still protected as an orchid. In Germany it is classified as a national type of responsibility within the national strategy for biological diversity of the federal government.

As with many plants in the wet meadows, the population of this species has been decreasing for some time. The main causes are nitrogen input through fertilization, draining of the sites and intensive grazing. The broad-leaved orchid does not react as sensitively to changes in locations as, for example, the flesh-colored orchid , with which it occasionally shares locations. It usually disappears as the last of the native orchids. This tolerance makes it a still relatively common species.

To alert the public to its worthiness of protection, the Broad orchid was from the A rbeitskreisen H eimische O rchideen (AHO) s for the years 1989 and 2020 for the orchid of the year selected.

The Loki Schmidt Foundation voted the broad-leaved orchid flower of the year in 1994 .

Systematics

Dactylorhiza × braunii
Rare light-flowered plant

Subspecies

R. Govaerts distinguishes three subspecies:

  • Baltic marsh orchid ( Dactylorhiza majalis subsp. Baltica (blade) H.Sund. , Syn .: Dactylorhiza longifolia (Neuman) Aver. , Orchis latifolia subsp. Baltica blade , Dactylorhiza baltica (blade) NI Orlova ): It comes from Finland and Germany to Central Asia before.
  • Dactylorhiza majalis (Rchb.) PFHunt & Summerh. subsp. majalis : It occurs in Europe.
  • Peat moss orchid ( Dactylorhiza majalis subsp. Sphagnicola (Hoeppner) HAPedersen & Hedrén , Syn .: Orchis sphagnicola Hoeppner , Dactylorhiza sphagnicola (Hoeppner) Aver. , Dactylorhiza incarnata subsp. Sphagnicola (Hoeppner) H.Sund. ): It is used in Norway , Sweden , Denmark , Belgium , the Netherlands , France and Germany . The number of chromosomes is 2n = 80.

Dactylorhiza majalis is no longer included:

  • Dactylorhiza majalis var. Pumila (Freyn ex M. Schulze) H.Baumann, Künkele & R.Lorenz (synonym: Dactylorhiza majalis var. Alpestris (Pugsley) Wucherpf. ). It will probably do better than a separate species Dactylorhiza alpestris (Pugsley) Aver. viewed.

Hybrids

Within the genus, the broad-leaved orchid hybridizes very often with other species.

  • Dactylorhiza × ashersoniana ( Dactylorhiza majalis × Dactylorhiza incarnata )
    The hybrid with the flesh-colored orchid is usually difficult to determine. The plants are similar in habit to the flesh-colored orchid with the upright, lighter, occasionally spotted leaves. The width of the lip of the flower lies between both parent species. The hybrid can be confused with Dactylorhiza incarnata var. Haematodes , whose leaves are more spotted.
  • Dactylorhiza × braunii ( Dactylorhiza majalis × Dactylorhiza fuchsii )
    In the form of flowers, hybrids tend to be broad-leaved orchids, and sometimes fox orchids that bloom later . In the flowering period, they are usually between the parent species.
  • Dactylorhiza × dufftiana (M. Schulze) Soó (1962) ( Dactylorhiza majalis × Dactylorhiza traunsteineri )
  • Dactylorhiza × godferyana ( Dactylorhiza majalis × Dactylorhiza praetermissa )
  • Dactylorhiza × kuehnensis ( Dactylorhiza majalis × Dactylorhiza ruthei )
  • Dactylorhiza × townsendiana ( Dactylorhiza majalis × Dactylorhiza maculata )
  • Dactylorhiza × rupertii ( Dactylorhiza majalis × Dactylorhiza sambucina )

More rarely, hybrids with other genera occur (intergeneric hybrids) * × Dactyloglossum drucei ( Dactylorhiza majalis × Coeloglossum viride )

Synonyms

Ludwig Reichenbach described the broad-leaved orchid as Orchis majalis in 1828 . The name forms the basionym after Peter Francis Hunt and Victor Samuel Summerhayes transferred the species to the genus Dactylorhiza in 1965 . Occasionally the name Dactylorhiza fistulosa is also used, but since the description is not valid, this name can not be used as Orchis fistulosa despite the earlier publication in 1794 .

Synonyms : Orchis majalis Rchb. 1828 (Basionym), Orchis latifolia L. 1753 (nom. Ambig.), Dactylorchis majalis (Rchb.) Verm. 1947, Dactylorhiza comosa ssp. majalis (Rchb.) PD Sell & G. Murrell 1996, Orchis fistulosa Moench 1794 nom. illeg., Dactylorhiza fistulosa (Moench) H. Baumann & Künkele 1983 nom. illegal.

Superstition

The root bulbs, which are shaped like fingers , of the plant, which is also called Stendelwurz like other orchids , used to be ascribed to supernatural powers, whereby the previous year's (dark colored and older) was called the devil's finger, the devil's hand or the hand of Satan, this year's (lighter colored) was called the finger of Mary, lucky hand or St. John's hand. According to popular belief, the root could heal sick parts of the body by touching it at noon on St. John's Day (June 24th).

literature

  • AHO (Ed.): The orchids of Germany . Verlag AHO Thuringia Uhlstädt - Kirchhasel, 2005, ISBN 3-00-014853-1 .
  • Karl-Peter Buttler : Orchids, the wild growing species of Europe . Mosaik Verlag 1986, ISBN 3-570-04403-3 .
  • Robert L. Dressler: The orchids - biology and systematics of the Orchidaceae . (1996) - good work on the subject of systematics [German]
  • Helmut Presser: The orchids of Central Europe and the Alps . Nikol Verlagsgesellschaft Hamburg, 2nd edition: 2002, ISBN 3-933203-54-6 .
  • Hans Sundermann : European and Mediterranean orchids . Brücke-Verlag, 2nd edition: 1975, ISBN 3-87105-010-5 .
  • JG Williams: Orchids of Europe with North Africa and Asia Minor . BLV Verlag, ISBN 3-405-11901-4 .
  • Ruprecht Düll , Herfried Kutzelnigg : Pocket dictionary of plants in Germany and neighboring countries. The most common Central European species in portrait. 7th, corrected and enlarged edition. Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2011, ISBN 978-3-494-01424-1 .
  • Dietmar Aichele, Heinz-Werner Schwegler: The flowering plants of Central Europe , Franckh-Kosmos-Verlag, 2nd revised edition 1994, 2000, volume 5, ISBN 3 440-08048-X

Web links

Commons : Broad-leaved orchid ( Dactylorhiza majalis )  - album with pictures, videos and audio files
 Wikispecies: Broad-leaved orchid ( Dactylorhiza majalis )  - species directory

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Erich Oberdorfer : Plant-sociological excursion flora for Germany and neighboring areas . With the collaboration of Angelika Schwabe and Theo Müller. 8th, heavily revised and expanded edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3131-5 , pp. 282-283 .
  2. ↑ Dactylorhiza majalis at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
  3. ^ Hedrén M. (2005). Artbildning och släktskap inom orkidésläktet handnycklar Dactylorhiza . In: Svensk Botanisk Tidskrift 99 (2): pp. 70-93.
  4. ↑ Yohan Pillon, Michael F. Fay et al. a .: Evolution and Temporal Diversification of Western European Polyploid Species Complexes in Dactylorhiza (Orchidaceae). In: Taxon. 56, 2007, pp. 1185-1208, doi : 10.2307 / 25065911 .
  5. ↑ Mikael Hedrén, Sofie Nordström u. a .: Systematics and conservation genetics of Dactylorhiza majalis ssp. elatior (Orchidaceae) on Gotland. In: Nordic Journal of Botany. 30, 2012, pp. 257-272, doi : 10.1111 / j.1756-1051.2012.01321.x .
  6. ↑ a b c d e f Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Degeneria. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  7. ↑ Helmut Baumann , Siegfried Künkele : Orchidaceae . In: Oskar Sebald u. a .: The fern and flowering plants of Baden-Württemberg. 1st edition Volume 8, page 365. Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 1998. ISBN 3-8001-3359-8
  8. ↑ Erhard Dörr, Wolfgang Lippert : Flora of the Allgäu and its surroundings. Volume 1, IHW, Eching 2001, ISBN 3-930167-50-6 , p. 374.
  9. ↑ Species in particular responsibility of Germany ( memento of August 2, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) on the homepage of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, accessed on June 3, 2016
  10. ^ Helmut Hiller: Lexicon of Superstition. Munich 1986, p. 305.