Image of Newfoundland Orchid

Description:

Slo.: belkaste roice - syn.: Leucorchis albida (L.) Mey., Gymnadenia albida (L.) Rich. - Introduction: Pseudorchis albida is one of the interesting small orchids growing in Slovenian mountains. It is neither a common nor an easy to spot plant with its small, only 3-5 mm long whitish-yellowish-greenish flowers. But it is a wide spread Arctic-Alpine floristic element and can be found in all Alpine regions and other European mountains from montane to alpine elevations. In Sweden it descends down to sea level. The plant is rather rare and protected in several countries including Slovenia except in Scandinavia and Island where it is a common plant. Two subspecies of Pseudorchis albida have been described: Pseudorchis albida ssp. albida and Pseudorchis albida ssp. tricuspis. According to Fischer et all. (2005) the former is taller (10-40 cm), has longer inflorescence with 30 to 70 flowers in it, bracts are approximately as long as ovary and its lip (labellum) has three lobes, where the middle one is somewhat longer and wider than the side ones. It prefers acid, siliceous ground. The later one is overall smaller (5-17 cm), has only 20 to 30 flowers in its inflorescence, all three lobes of the lip are more or less of equal length. Its bracts are longer than ovary and it prefers base rich, calcareous ground (Ref.1). However, these two taxa are not generally recognized. Fisher et all (2005) and Dolinar (2015) recognize both taxa. Aeschimann et all, (2004) and Slovenian Key (Ref.2) consider these two taxa as taxonomically questionable. Kretzschmar (2008), Allan et all (1993) and Sebald et all (1998) know only Pseudorchis albida (no subspecies mentioned). Bauman et all, (2006) recognizes Pseudorchis albida ssp. albida, Pseudorchis albida var. tricuspis and Pseudorchis albida ssp. straminea. Mt. Mangart's plateau is an interesting place because some parts of it are base rich, pure calcareous while in others intermixed siliceous rock causes more acid ground. One could expect both subspecies to be present. So far I photographed Pseudorchis albida on six different places and studied the features mentioned above. The plant(s) on two places corresponded well to Pseudorchis albida ssp. tricuspis, on other two to Pseudorchis albida ssp. albida (see observation Pseudorchis albida ssp. albida for details of this subspecies) and on two of them the traits were obviously intermixed. The observations #1 and #2 below fit well to Pseudorchis albida ssp. tricuspis, while the observation #3 can eventually still be described as Pseudorchis albida ssp. tricuspis, but the inflorescence was to some extent too long and has 34 flowers, which is also slightly too much. Also the bracts were only indistinctly longer than ovary, if at all. The plant should probably be better positioned somewhere in between both subspecies. Habitat: alpine grassland, grass patches among outcropped rocks and boulders, open place, full sun, exposed to direct rain, altitude 1.950 m (6.400 feet), average precipitations about 3.000 mm/year, average temperature 0-1 deg C, alpine phytogeographical region. Substratum: soil. Comments: Four plants were growing close together at this location. They had 20, 24, 26 and 28 flowers in their inflorescence and the lobes of the lip were of almost equal length. Ref.: (1) M.A. Fischer, W. Adler, K. Oswald, Exkursionsflora sterreich Liechtenstein, Sdtirol, LO Landesmuseen, Linz, Austria (2005), p 1038. (2) A. Martini et all., Mala Flora Slovenije, Tehnina Zaloba Slovenije (2007) (in Slovene), p 774. (3) H. Baumann, S. Kuenkele, R. Lorenz, Orchideen Europas, Ulmer (2006), p 264. (4) D. Aeschimann, K. Lauber, D.M. Moser, J.P. Theurillat, Flora Alpina, Vol. 2., Haupt (2004), p 1187 (A4 Addendum). (5) H. Kretzschmar, Die Orchideen Deutschlands und angrenzenden Lander, Quelle Meyer (2008), p 232. (6) B.Dolinar, Kukavievke v Sloveniji (Orchidaceae of Slovenia) (in Slovenian), Pipinova Knjiga (2015), p 161. (7) O. Sebald, S. Seybold, G. Philippi, A. Wrz, Eds., Die Farn und Blutenpflanzen Baden-Wrttembergs, Band 8., Verlag Eugen Ulmer (1998), p 348. (8) B. Allan, P. Woods, S. Clarke, Wild Orchids of Scotland, HMSO, Edinburgh (1993), p 78.