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at right: Gymnadenia conopsea
Gymnadenia R. Br. 1887
Pronounced jim-na-DEEN-ee-ah
Published in: Hortus Kewensis; or, a catalogue . . . The second edition 5: 191. 1813.
{Hortus Kew. }The European genus Gymnadenia has three species closely allied to Anacamptis and Dactylorhiza. Some taxonomists favor expanding the species list -- but most of the dozens of described species have been reduced to subspecific status or synonymy.
Gymnadenias have a leafy stem, a flower spike, down-curving lateral sepals, with dorsal sepals and petals forming a protective helmet over the rest of the flower.
The labellum points down and is trilobed, with a long basal spur. The column is short and erect. These are fragrant flowers, and in fact G. conopsea is known in Europe as the fragrant orchid. They are attractive to moths and butterflies, whose long proboscises reach into the spur for nectar. These insects dislodge the pollinia which stick to their proboscises, at first vertically, later turning forward to strike the stigma of the next flower visited.G. odoratissima is a smaller plant than G. conopsea, the spike appearing less dense because of a shorter spur and smaller flowers. The labellum lacks the trilobate appearance of G. conopsea because the lateral lobes are smaller than the midlobe. It is found only in mountainous regions, where the lighter color is said to attract night-flying moths.
Species denoted with '†' have images available with the description.
