Military Orchid
Encyclopedia
- Orchis militaris Poir. is a synonym of Orchis italicaOrchis italicaOrchis italica is a species of orchid native to the Mediterranean....
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Orchis militaris, the Military Orchid, is a species of orchid native to Europe. It is the type species of the genus Orchis
Orchis
Orchis is a genus in the orchid family . This genus gets its name from the Ancient Greek ὄρχις orchis, meaning "testicle", from the appearance of the paired subterranean tuberoids....
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Description
This plant grows to a height of 20 to 50 cm with a robust stem with rather drawn up oblong basal leaves. The inflorescence forms a purplish dense cone consisting of from 10 to 40 flowers. In each flower the sepals and side petals are gathered together to form a pointed "helmet" (whence it gets its name), a lilac colour outside and a veined purple colour inside.The central tongue finishes in two lobes separated by a tooth.
Habitat
Likes full light on a dry calcareous substrate. For example unfertilized lawns, meadows, edges and light woods up to 2000m in altitude.Distribution
It is well distributed around Europe, reaching as far north as southern SwedenSweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, but rather rare in the Mediterranean areas.
It is extremely rare in Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and a protected species, occurring only at the Rex Graham nature reserve
Rex Graham nature reserve
The Rex Graham nature reserve is a 0.27 hectare nature reserve in the Breckland region of Suffolk, England, named after Rex Graham, a Suffolk botanist...
in Suffolk and the Buckinghamshire Chilterns.
Uses
Orchis militaris contains the nutritious polysaccharidePolysaccharide
Polysaccharides are long carbohydrate molecules, of repeated monomer units joined together by glycosidic bonds. They range in structure from linear to highly branched. Polysaccharides are often quite heterogeneous, containing slight modifications of the repeating unit. Depending on the structure,...
glucomannan
Glucomannan
Glucomannan is a water-soluble polysaccharide that is considered a dietary fiber. Glucomannan is a food additive used as an emulsifier and thickener. Products containing glucomannan, marketed under a variety of brand names, are also sold as nutritional supplements for constipation, obesity, high...
, and is one of the original species of orchid whose ground-up roots are used to make the drink salep
Salep
Salep is a flour made from grinding the dried tubers of the orchid genus Orchis . These tubers contain a nutritious starch-like polysaccharide called glucomannan. Salep flour is consumed today in beverages and desserts, primarily in Turkey and in places that were formerly part of the Ottoman...
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See also
- Orchis caucasica
- Orchis galilaeaOrchis galilaeaOrchis galilaea is a species of orchid found from southern Turkey to Israel....
- Orchis italicaOrchis italicaOrchis italica is a species of orchid native to the Mediterranean....
- Orchis mascula
- Orchis militaris
- Orchis punctulataOrchis punctulataOrchis punctulata, the Small-dotted Orchis, is a species of orchid found from southeastern Europe to western Asia....
- Orchis purpurea
- Orchis simiaOrchis simiaThe Monkey orchid is an orchid species of the Orchis genus. It is known for its pungent odor, which some say is similar to that of feces.-References:...
- Orchis stevenii
