The G.I.R.O.S. Italian Group for Research on Wild Orchids (Gruppo Italiano per la Ricerca sulle Orchidee Spontanee), is an italian naturalistic association of social promotion (non-profit) founded in 1994 by italian naturalist Paolo Liverani, who died in 2005, and other naturalists of Tuscany

Tuscany

Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....

 and Emilia Romagna.

Objectives

The GIROS promotes the knowledge, study and protection of Italian wild orchids and is part of the European Orchid Council (EOC). Distributed throughout the Italian national territory, it is divided into sections. It organizes excursions, conventions, conferences and photographic exhibitions.

Magazine

The GIROS publishes the quarterly magazine GIROS News with color photos, information on the activities of the association and its sections, articles on botanical reports, popular science, literature reviews and national and international specialist literature. The first twenty-two issues of the magazine (1995 - 2003) are available online, only the cover and the index for the subsequent issues.

Sections

• Sezione Alta Toscana (Apuane, Versilia, Lunigiana, Garfagnana)
• Sezione Calabra Reggina
• Sezione Calabra Silana
• Sezione Colli Berici
• Sezione Etruria Meridionale (Viterbo)
• Sezione Fiorentina
• Sezione Livornese
• Sezione Lucana
• Sezione Monte Baldo
• Sezione Murgiana
• Sezione Pratese
• Sezione Sardegna Centrale
• Sezione Sicilia Centrale
• Sezione Tarantina
• Sezione Tridentina
• Sezione Tyrrhena
• Sezione Umbria
• Sezione Vallo di Diano - Cilento (Salerno)

Publications

In 2009, the G.I.R.O.S. has published a monograph on the Italian wild orchids . The book was produced by the experts group, which includes the major italian specialists in this fascinating group of plants. It is the first monograph on the Italian orchids updated to the latest molecular and taxonomy research. Specific introductory chapters are devoted to morphology, biology

Biology

Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...

, systematics

Systematics

Biological systematics is the study of the diversification of terrestrial life, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees...

 and taxonomy

Taxonomy

Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...

, biogeography, ecology

Ecology

Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...

 and protection. The main body of the book contains cards of all 29 genres and all 189 species and subspecies known to the Italian country. The more complex types are also described in a dichotomous key. Each species is described with a card with detailed information on the distribution, the flowering period, a detailed description of the morphological and biology, and many images that illustrate both the whole plant, and the details, both the color variations. The volume concludes with an extensive bibliography, a glossary and index analysis.

See also

• Giardino delle Orchidee Spontanee del Mediterraneo
  Giardino delle Orchidee Spontanee del Mediterraneo
  The Giardino delle Orchidee Spontanee del Mediterraneo is a botanical garden operated by the World Wide Fund for Nature within its Palo Laziale nature reserve. It is located Via Palo Laziale 2, Palo Laziale, Ladispoli, Province of Rome, Lazio, Italy....
  
  
• List of botanical gardens in Italy
• List of Orchidaceae genera
• Orchid of the Year
  Orchid of the Year
  The Orchid of the Year is a yearly honor given since 1989 to an orchid species native to Germany by the Arbeitskreis Heimische Orchideen , a German orchid conservation federation. The choice of orchids follows the endangerment of the species or its habitat due to human pressure.- Orchids of the...
  
  

External links

• Home page of Gruppo Italiano per la Ricerca sulle Orchidee Spontanee
• Official Forum of Gruppo Italiano per la Ricerca sulle Orchidee Spontanee
• Home page of the Sardinia Section