Image of Butterfly orchid

Description:

Slo.: metuljasta kukavica - syn.: Orchis papilionacea L. - Coordinates intentionally not precize. - Habitat: grassland, open relatively dry place, full sun, almost flat terrain, rather thick soil layer, exposed to direct rain, average precipitations 1.600- 1-800 mm/year, average temperature about 12 deg C, elevation 175 m (575 feet), submediterranean phytogeographical region. - Substratum: soil. - Comment: Anacamptis papilionacea is a beautiful Mediterranean species sometimes growing in large groups where it is at home. Slovenia is at its most northern border of territory of occurrence. Consequently it is a rare plant, hard to find it. Only few stands with rather small numbers of plants are known. At the place in the Vipava valley where these photos have been taken only two or three plants grow. Since it is so rare it is hard to objectively judge about the future of its stands. Most probably it is in decline in spite of the fact that during last few years two new stands have been discovered. It disappeared from France (exception Corsica) and it has only a single last indigenous stand known in Switzerland ( Ref.4. >1993). - Anacamptis papilionacea is a very variable species so no wonder numerous taxa on the level of subspecies, varieties and forms have been described by different authors, who have never come to a generally accepted, at least to some degree stable, taxonomy of the genus. In addition resent molecular studies proved that that what was once named Orchis papilionacea is now Anacamptis papilionacea, even the genus has been changed. To those more interested in this long story I recommend to read almost amusing text in Ref.3. - Protected according to 'Uredba o zavarovanih prostoiveih rastlinskih vrstah' Url. RS, t. 46/2004 (Regulation of protection of wild growing plants, Official Gazette of Republic Slovenia, No.:46/2004). Enlisted in the Slovene Red List of rare and endangered species, marked by 'V' representing a vulnerable species. - Ref.: (1) Personal communication with Mr. Branko Dolinar, http://www.orhideje.si/ and Dr. Igor Dakskobler, Institute Jovan Hadi, SAZU. (2) A. Martini et all., Mala Flora Slovenije, Tehnina Zaloba Slovenije (1999) (in Slovene), p 672. (3) http://www.janvanlent.com/blog/?p=1632 (4) http://www.infoflora.ch/assets/content/documents/maps/raster/d/281400.pdf