Cephalanthera damasonium
White helleborine ( Cephalanthera damasonium )
The White helleborine, helleborine bleach or broadleaf helleborine ( Cephalanthera damasonium ) is the type species of the genus helleborine ( Cephalanthera ) from the family of orchid family ( Orchidaceae). Compared to many other native orchids, the White helleborine is still common in some areas.
Description
The White helleborine is a slender perennial, herbaceous growing Rhizomgeophyt. The horizontal creeping rhizomes are short, branched and strongly rooted.
At the bottom of the green stem, which reaches a height of 8 to 60 centimeters, there are one to three dark brown, scale-like leaves. It is followed by two to six parallel venation, ovate to lance-shaped leaves, which are more or less arranged in two rows on the stem. These leaves have a length of four to ten inches and a width of 1.5 to 5 centimeters.
The transition from the deciduous leaves to bracts of the flowers is most fluent. The lowest bract is much longer than the flowers, up they are much smaller.
The racemose inflorescence is lockerblütig occupied by two to 20 flowers.
The hermaphrodite, zygomorphic, threefold, from white to creamy yellow colored flowers are directed obliquely upwards or vertically in the axils of the bracts open and usually barely. The bloom of the outer circle of the perigone are ovate to lanceolate, 15 to 23 millimeters long and from four to ten millimeters wide. The upper two petals of the inner circle are somewhat shorter having a length of 14 to 19 millimeters. Said lip is divided into two limbs. It is 10 to 16 millimeters long. The rear lip ( Hypochil ) is triangular bent up with a yellow time in the middle and on the sides. The front lip ( Epichil ) is heart-shaped and also bent up at the sides, the tip bent slightly downwards. On the lip, there are three to five yellow to orange colored longitudinal strips. A spur is present.
When White helleborine self-pollination is the rule. Even before anthesis ( flowering ) opens the anther. The pollinia then sink to the grain surface and touch the scars mucus. Thus, pollination is completed before the flowering. Because the scars mucus is imbued with the pollinia, it is not possible that a pollinator gets glued the pollinia, like the one at the Schwertblättrigen helleborine ( Cephalanthera longifolia) is the rule. The fruit set at the White helleborine is accordingly very high, at 80 %. The mature seed capsules are significantly larger than for the other domestic helleborine species. They are steeply upward, 23 to 35 mm long and 8-12 mm wide. The large fruit capsules, the White helleborine can still be good also determine after flowering, and even in the dried state.
The flowering period extends from May to July.
The White helleborine is very variable in the rule. Is known:
- Plants without chlorophyll
- Albinos with pure white flowers
- Pale yellow flowers.
Genetics and Mykotrophie
The White helleborine has a karyotype of two sets of chromosomes and each chromosome 18 ( Cytology: 2n = 36).
The seed of this orchid contains no nutritive tissue for the seedling. Therefore Germination occurs only when infected by a root fungus ( mycorrhiza ). The plant is still dependent in the adult stage on the mycorrhiza. Indicators of this are often very dark locations and the occasional, entirely chlorophyll-free plants.
As has been demonstrated recently, green individuals of the White Forest birds one up almost half of their carbon from their root fungi. Among these were several species that are Ektomykorrhizapartner by trees. Thus, probably the surrounding trees, the primary carbon source of the captured from the orchid fungal carbon ( Epiparasitismus ). The White helleborine is therefore in his diet between autotrophic green orchid species (such as the lady's slipper ) and myco - heterotrophic, pale species (such as the bird - nest orchid and Korallenwurz ). Such "mixed diet " is referred to as partial or Mykoheterotrophie mixotrophy.
Ecology
Mainly inhabited the White helleborine clear to dark deciduous, coniferous and mixed forest on dry to fresh soils. Also in bushes on semi-dry and dry grass to find it. Only rarely it grows on dry grasslands without the protection of trees and shrubs.
Especially in young spruce monocultures with an age of about 15 to 20 years, it can spread very much in a short time. Around 1,500 or more plants on an area of 2,500 m² are possible. After only a few years, this number decreases again strong and only a few plants it remain.
It comes in the following plant communities before:
- Association Cephalanthero - Fagenion whose characteristic species is the White helleborine.
- Association Mesobromion
( See breakdown: Phytosociological units according to Oberdorfer )
Dissemination
The distribution area extends from southern Europe to southern Scandinavia, further to the Middle East, as well as in the Caucasus and on the west coast of the Caspian Sea.
It is a Florenelement the Mediterranean, sub-Mediterranean, Pannonian, Danubian, South and Central Atlantic, sub-Atlantic and Central European flora zone, to a lesser extent, the Pontic and Sarmatian zone.
In Germany the White helleborine avoids the regions with largely non-calcareous soils. Therefore, it is in the northern German lowlands to the edge of the Central Upland Range, the Bavarian Forest, the Black Forest and the Bavarian foothills of the Alps and the Danube between very rare or absent.
In Switzerland, the main distribution areas are located in northern Switzerland and around the larger lakes (Lake Geneva, Lake Lucerne, Lake Neuchâtel, Lake Brienz and Lake Thun ), and along the Rhine and the Rhone Valley. In the rest of the way Switzerland has so far been detected only very rarely.
In Austria the White helleborine occurs in all provinces and endangered in only a few areas.
Nature protection and hazard
Despite the still places individual- rich deposits, the White helleborine is under strict protection of European and national laws.
- Red lists:
- Red List of Germany: safely
- Red List states: Baden- Württemberg: safely, Bavaria: safely, Brandenburg: 2, Hesse safely, Lower Saxony: 3, Mecklenburg- Vorpommern: 3, North Rhine -Westphalia: safely, Rhineland -Palatinate: safely, Saarland: 3 axes: 2, Saxony- Anhalt: safely, Schleswig -Holstein: 1, Thuringia safely.
Even with the formerly common species decline is noticeable for some time. The forest economy was just as agriculture intensified by clearcuts can quickly larger sites will be lost. One danger is that especially where the White helleborine is already rare or just rare. The nitrogen input over the air also makes itself felt in the forests, blackberries and nettles are spreading and take the orchids as competitive weaker plant habitat.
System
The White helleborine was described in 1768 by Philip Miller as serapias damasonium. This name represents the basionym represents the genus Cephalanthera was indeed founded in 1817, but only in 1906 was the transfer of the species by George Claridge Druce to this genus.
Synonyms:
- Serapias damasonium million in 1768 ( basionym )
- Serapias latifolia million in 1768
- Epipactis alba Crantz 1769
- Serapias tota - alba Gilib. 1792
- Epipactis lancifolia F.W. Schmidt 1795
- Serapias alba ( Crantz ) Salisb. 1796
- Cymbidium pallens Sw. 1799
- Serapias lancifolia ( F.W. Schmidt) Roth 1799
- Epipactis ochroleuca Baumg. 1817
- Serapias ochroleuca ( Baumg. ) Steud. 1821
- Cephalanthera lancifolia ( F.W. Schmidt) Dumort. 1827
- Serapias pallens ( Sw. ) S. B. Jundz. 1830
- Cephalanthera ochroleuca ( Baumg. ) Rchb. 1831
- Cephalanthera acuminata Ledeb. 1852
- Cephalanthera alba ( Crantz ) Simonk. 1887
- Cephalanthera latifolia Janch. 1907
- Cephalanthera yunnanensis Hand. - Mazz. 1936
- Cephalanthera damasonium lus ochroleuca ( Baumg. ) Soó 1970
Subspecies and hybrids
As a subspecies is geglegentlich Kotschys helleborine (C. kotschyana ) as Cephalanthera damasonium subsp. kotschyana classified.
Hybrids are rare, although the species share their locations often. Because this is the White helleborine through the barely opened flowers and the self-pollination related. However, the following hybrids have been described.
- Cephalanthera × schulzei ( damasonium × longifolia)
- Cephalanthera × mayeri ( damasonium × rubra)
Gallery
Fruiting plant
Flowers